


Letters to Juliet

by MissNMikaelson



Category: Letters to Juliet (2010), The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-21 16:43:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 33,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14289078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissNMikaelson/pseuds/MissNMikaelson
Summary: Elena and Stefan are headed off to Verona to meet the suppliers for his new restaurant. Once there Elena falls in with the secretaries of Juliet who answers letters written to the fictional character. Elena finds a letter in Juliet's house that has been there for 25 years. She decides that she simply has to reply. A few days later a man shows up to berate her.I always rate M just to be on the safe side. If there does wind up being a smutty chapter I post a warning at the beginning.





	1. Fact Checker

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet

She rolled her head from side to side and sighed when the slimy noodles brushed against her ear. She was attempting to check on a few facts for work, but it was proving impossible.

Her lidded amber eyes made a slow circle of the room. Drying pasta hung from every available surface. Noodles were strung over the violet lampshades, laid flat over the coffee table, and draped over the plush armchairs. Elena couldn’t stretch without having her hands brush against a wet noodle.

She sighed deeply when she heard the sounds of pots clanging in the small kitchen.

Stefan was bent over a large pot of tomato sauce. The rich sent stretched from the stove to her nose. He had yet to notice her staring at him.

Elena watched as he lifted the wooden spoon to his thin lips. His intense green eyes narrowed in concentration as he took a slow, deliberate taste of the sauce. Stefan seemed to be pleased with it, but Elena knew what the frown accompanying his nod meant.

Sure enough a few seconds later he was spreading the sauce over a plate of the fresh pasta. Elena refocused her attention on the highlighted portions of the article, determined to get at least some work done. She chewed her bottom lip as she started adding notes to the margins.

“Elena,” Stefan glided across the room purposefully to stand in front of her, “taste this.”

“Just give me a second, Stefan,” Elena sighed. She finished typing and set the laptop on a clear patch of the coffee table. She caught sight of his feet taping out an impatient rhythm on the floor.

She held out her hands for the dish. She stabbed the center of the plate and quickly twirled the pasta around the fork. Elena could feel Stefan’s penetrating gaze on her as she chewed. She made sure to note the taste before swallowing; this was the third time she had tasted his tomato sauce today.

“It’s your best yet,” she smiled around the remnants of the pasta. She even took a second bite for good measure, “delicious.”

She passed the plate back before reaching for her laptop. Elena sighed when she saw his narrowed eyes. Stefan took a bite of the dish and slowly chewed.

“Are you sure?” His brooding gaze locked on the plate. “There’s not too much garlic, or Oregano?” Stefan took another mouthful of the sauce and turned it over on his tongue while he awaited her answer.

Elena pressed her lips together and glanced up from her laptop. “It has just the right amount of garlic.”

“It’s not too spicy?” Stefan mulled over the sauce.

“It’s perfect,” Elena stifled her exasperated sigh, “it’s got a good spice palette.”

She returned her attention to her laptop. Elena felt her deep brown eyes roll when he didn’t move.

“Maybe it needs more…”

“Stefan,” this time the sigh escaped her full, pouty lips, “It’s delicious.”

“You’re saying me it’s delicious,” Stefan’s long fingers tapped against the edge of the plate, “but you’re not telling me it’s delicious.”

“Stefan, please,” Elena sighed, “I have to finish this, John needs it tonight. I still have to pack, could you please think out loud in the kitchen?” Elena leaned back against the couch to stare up at him. “You’re not doing much for my concentration.”

Elena fought the urge to throw her hands in the air when she saw the realization hit his eyes. She jolted when she felt him plant a heavy kiss on her lips.

“Thank you, babe,” Stefan practically skipped back to the kitchen. “It’s too concentrated.”

Elena released a small laugh and shook her head slowly before finally focusing on the article.

* * *

 

Her heels clicked on the polished tile of the apartments lobby. Elena dragged her suitcase behind her; she had her laptop bag and carryon slung over her shoulder. Stefan followed behind her he was carrying a magazine as he walked.

Stefan looked up when they stopped in front of the waiting cab.

“Passports?”

“Check,” Elena nodded as he went through the pre-flight checklist.

“Tickets?”

“Yep.”

“Accommodation reservations?”

“Check.”

“Euros?”

“Check.”

“Suitcases?” Stefan met her laughing eyes. “What?”

“I have mine,” Elena smirked. She snickered when he looked down at his empty hands.

“Shit,” Stefan chuckled before running back into the building.

Elena watched him go as she loaded her suitcase in the trunk of the cab. It was fifteen minutes later when the trunk slammed shut, and Stefan slid into the cab beside her. Elena turned to the driver when he was situated and told him which airport they wanted.

“I actually have to make one stop,” Stefan held up his finger to interrupt the directions.

Elena fixed him with a tired stare. She sighed before giving the cab driver the address for Stefan’s restaurant. She was glad she had insisted they leave for the airport 6 hours before their flight.

* * *

 

Elena smiled at Matt. He was dutifully going through light fixtures with Stefan.

She sighed as she stepped through the construction site that was the restaurant. She slowly slid past a group of men in hardhats on her way to the kitchen. She gazed at the bare walls with a detached curiosity. She watches in mild fascination as two men move the stove into place.

She fished her ringing cell phone from her purse. She sighed when she read the name flashing across the screen.

“Hey John,” Elena answered. The stainless steel of the counter bled through her top to spread cold across her hip.

“Why can’t we say that Maxfield’s comb over wraps around clockwise? I’m looking at the picture we’re running with the piece, and it’s wrapping clockwise.”

Elena quickly made her way outside as she talked; she knew this conversation would require some semblance of quiet. “You can say it. You just can’t state it as a fact.”

“It works better as a fact,” John grumbled. “It’s a fun detail.”

“I looked at every picture I could find,” Elena sighed. She stepped out of the way of a man carrying some equipment inside. “Every picture from the last 10 years; I even talked to his stylist. His hair changes.” Elena ran a hand through her own hair. “It’s a fact if you use ‘usually’ or ‘typically’, but you can’t say that it does.”

“People hate qualifiers, Elena.”

Elena shrugged despite the fact that John couldn’t see her. “Those are the facts, John.”

“Your facts are getting in the way of my fun,” John sighed. Elena heard him set a pile of paper aside.

“While I have you,” Elena chewed her bottom lip between her teeth. Her thumb fiddled with the chain of her necklace. “I wanted to talk to you about something…” Elena started pacing in front of the restaurant doors; she considered hanging up the phone then and there.

“Talk…” She heard the squeak of his desk chair.

“I was thinking,” she stammered, “since I’m already going to Italy maybe I could try doing a travel piece, or something as a feature story…”

“I have writers for that,” John interrupted, “you don’t do features; you do fact checking.”

“I know,” Elena nodded. She rested her hand against the warm brick of the building, “I was thinking I could try something new.”

“Why would you want to try something new?” She felt her heart plummet into her chest. “You’re so good at fact checking… too good.”

Elena pressed on: “I feel like I could do more… contribute more…”

“You contribute plenty. My writers count on you Elena. They can’t do what they do if you don’t do what you do.” John sighed. Elena heard him pick up some paper. “You’re good at something, be grateful for that, a lot of people are good at nothing.”

“I guess,” Elena felt unbidden tears spring up behind her eyes, “I just…”

“Just keep doing what you do,” John carried on as if he hadn’t heard her. “Oh, and I need a table at Babbo this Friday. Can you take care of that?”

Elena rolled her eyes. She blinked back the dejected tears before they had a chance to fall. “You know you have a new assistant right?”

“I know,” John chuckled, “but you know the maitre d’.”

“I got it, John.”

Elena hung up the phone. She made the call to Babbo’s before sliding back into the cab to wait for Stefan. She wondered if she would ever get to do what she wanted to do, or if she was destined to be a fact checker for the rest of her life. She didn’t notice Stefan had returned to the cab until his hip bumped hers.

“Verona here we come,” he laughed breathlessly as he fastened his seatbelt. His eyes focused on Elena when she didn’t share his enthusiasm. “What’s wrong?”

Elena shook her head and stared straight ahead.

“What did John want?”

“He wanted to argue about the direction that Maxfield’s comb over wraps around.”

“Counter clockwise?”

“He treats me like I’m his assistant.” Elena gripped her knees. She swallowed nervously and chewed her lip. “He’ll always treat me like his assistant.”

“It’s not so bad,” Stefan squeezed her warm hand, “he values you. And you’ve got job security.”

“Right,” Elena laughed. _Is that all I’m destined for?_

Stefan picked up his magazine when the smile returned to her face. They drove in silence for a while before Elena started to voice her inner monologue.

“I took the job because I thought it would be a stepping stone… to features or covers, or something… but there are no steps, there are no stones,” she gestured wildly with her hands, “there’s just Wes Maxfield’s hair.” She sighed and slid her fingers through her chestnut hair.

“You could always come work with me.”

“I know,” Elena slumped against the back seat of the cab, “and I appreciate that.”

“You’d be amazing in fine dining.”

“So you’ve told me,” she glanced out the window. The offer was very sweet, but it would take her even farther from her dreams.

“You would be,” Stefan’s eyes quickly roamed her slim body in the cramped cab. “You’re beautiful, smart, and funny. You could run the place if you wanted to.”

Elena felt a soft smile spread across her face. She met Stefan’s eyes with a shy gaze. “You just said I was beautiful,” she blushed. “You never tell me I’m beautiful.”

Her eyes fell to the seat of the cab as she smiled.

“You know you’re beautiful.” Stefan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. “Cheer up, Elena, we are going to Italy so we can forget about everything.”

“We’re going to Italy to meet the suppliers for your restaurant,” Elena rolled her eyes. “How are we supposed to forget about it?”

“I promise you it will not just be about the restaurant.”

 _Yeah, right._ “It’s fine Stefan.”

“It’s not just going to be about the restaurant.” Stefan nodded decisively. “We are going to relax, see the sights, shop the stores. I promise,” he squeezed her shoulders, “it’s going to be great.”

Elena wanted to believe him; she did, but she couldn’t stop her elegant eyebrow from quirking over her sceptical eyes.

“We are going to the home of Romeo and Juliet,” he grinned and nudged her hip. “How romantic is that?”

“It didn’t work out to well for them.”


	2. Sweet Elena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet

Indistinct conversations rose in the still air of Verona. They were not indistinct to Elena because of distance, but because they were in perfect Italian. Stefan had insisted they get off of the well beaten path that had been worn down by millions of tourists over several decades. As a result the apartment they had rented was along a street teeming with locals rather than tourists.

She set her guide book aside and gazed over the balcony at the scene below. Just across from their apartment is a small restaurant – the source of all the chatter – full of locals on their lunch breaks. Women rush this way and that, their arms laden with packages that will undoubtedly contain the contents of that evening’s dinner. A couple of school children dart through the crowds making their way back to classes – they run around a gaggle of giggling young nuns.  The few smiles she sees are genuine, not the ones locals force for the tourists.

Elena felt her heart leap into her throat when a tiny yellow fiat speeds around the corner. She relaxed when the children darted out of the way in the nick of time.

She decided it would probably be best to get away from the busy scene before someone else gave her a near heart attack. She opened her guidebook again and slipped back into the room. Her focused gaze landed on Stefan as he emerged from the bathroom towel drying his hair.

Elena excitedly started listing off all of the things they should do first. “I think we should start with the Arena and then go to the Castelvecchio Museum…” Elena started when Stefan snatched the book from her hands and tossed it on the bed.

“That stuff is for tourists,” he shook his head with a slightly patronizing smile.

Elena bit her tongue to keep from pointing out that they were tourists, and on vacation.

“In order to discover the heart and soul of Italy,” he finger combed his hair into its usual windswept style, “you have to indulge in its smells and tastes.”

Elena tilted her head to the side and frowned at him. Her tongue pressed to the back of her teeth as she slowly shook her head.

* * *

 

Elena gripped the edge of her seat as Stefan hit the accelerator. The small red fiat cinquecento was being pushed to its limit as Stefan sped through the otherwise peaceful countryside.

She breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled off the empty country road onto the dirt drive of a vineyard.

Within moments Stefan had introduced himself to the owner. They found themselves standing in front of several barrels of wine.

Elena stood back and tried to make conversation with a field hand. It was difficult because he only spoke Italian, but she was happy for the opportunity to practice the language. She sighed in defeat when she saw Stefan wave her over.

“Yes, dear,” Elena stepped towards them.

Stefan handed her the camera. “Can you take a picture, Elena? I’ve picked the perfect wine.”

“Sure,” she held up the camera and instructed them to smile. The flash went off. Elena examined the picture of Stefan and the owner of the vineyard grinning as they raised their glasses in her direction.

* * *

 

A wind blew over the empty fields. The sound of an animal in the woods had her on edge. Elena crossed her arms and shivered as the wind picked up again. A shudder traveled down her spine as she tiptoed across the open space towards Stefan and a furtive looking man.

She suppressed a shriek when a tiny dog rushed out from the trees to jump around the man’s feet. Elena would not have been at all surprised to stumble upon a mass grave holding the victims of the mob; the isolated location was perfect for a hidden grave.

She made a mental note to lay off the murder mystery books. Her pace increased until she stood beside Stefan. Goosebumps erupted on her arms when the man lifted a white cloth from a tray to reveal white truffles.

Stefan picked one up and held it to his nose. Elena rubbed her arms as she took in his awestruck expression. She checked her watch anxious to get away from this squirrely man before the mob came for them.

* * *

 

“What are we looking at here?” Elena had already deduced from the rows of olive trees the purpose of the visit.

“Olive oil,” Stefan stepped up towards a large farmhouse.

The sandstone bricks gave Elena the sense that they had stepped back in time. She followed Stefan into a dank cellar and the feeling intensified. The dark room was lit with oil lamps, and it was clear that there was no indoor plumbing. She slowly approached a long table covered in various bottles of olive oil.

Her weary eyes landed on the gnarled old man behind the table. He looked just as ancient as the farmhouse.

Elena left Stefan to his taste testing and rounded a corner to see some men working an old olive press. Their muscles bunched under the skin as they worked the oil free from the bitter round fruit. She jumped when something slimy dripped onto the top of her foot.

She turned around when she heard Stefan groan appreciatively. She looked to see his eyes closed and his head thrown back in what she would have almost described as ecstasy.

He fixed an adoring gaze on the bottle in front of him, “this is the one.”

Elena couldn’t remember the last time he had looked at her that way.

* * *

 

She was sure she was going to be sick. The way Stefan zipped around the Italian countryside would have put the most daring of NASCAR drivers to shame, but it was doing nothing for her stomach. She was glad the butcher was the last stop on the food tour of the day.

Her neck craned this way and that as she took in the curing room. A row of heads hung along the edge of the room. Elena felt her stomach clench as the pig meets her furtive stare. She waves away the thin slice of prosciutto the butcher tries to pass her.

“This is incredible,” Stefan savored his taste. “Can you imagine when people taste this? I see lines up and down the street.” He stared at the meat with narrow eyes. “Maybe we should have a deli beside the restaurant.”

“That’s a good idea,” Elena mumbled. She excused herself and stepped outside to get some much needed air and make a long distance call.

The call connected after the second ring. “John Gilbert.”

Elena leaned back against the wall of the curing shack. “What if I did a piece on food?”

“I smell a Pulitzer,” John scoffed, “an expose on exquisite Italian cuisine.”

Elena ignored his sarcasm and continued on; if Stefan was going to work this vacation then she was too. “Did you know that the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest in the world? They have the lowest rate of coronary disease in Europe…”

“Jeez, Elena,” John cut her off. “I gave you a vacation. Go and enjoy it. Get drunk, go to a museum. Go to a museum drunk.”

Elena glanced through the window to see Stefan about to sample one of the pig’s heads. She swallowed the bile as it hit the back of her throat.

“I have to go, Elena.”

“Wait…” She stared at her phone as the call was cut off. She slumped against the shack and sighed.

Elena groaned when she saw Stefan waving to her with the camera. She rolled her eyes before dutifully walking back inside.

Later as they are walking back to the car Elena flips through the digital photographs. Each one is of Stefan posing with one of his suppliers.

“I’ve got to go and meet my wheat guy,” Stefan opened his door. “He’s in the North…” He trailed off when he caught Elena’s blank stare. “… you know for pasta.”

“Right…” Elena sighed. She ran her feet along the floor of the car.

“If we go right now we can get there before he closes.” The engine turned over once before roaring to life.

“I think I’ll pass,” Elena blinked slowly. She glanced down at the camera in her lap.

“But… it’s the best wheat in all of Italy,” Stefan gaped at her.

“Sure,” Elena nodded with a small frown. “It’s just… I need a break. Do you mind?” She stared at him with wide, tired eyes.

Stefan frowned in disappointment before nodding. “I’ll drop you off in town, but you’re missing out.”

Elena felt a smile spread across her cheeks at his adorable pout. She stretched across the console and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I know.”


	3. Secretaries of Juliet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet

A small group of teenagers were sitting across from her at the tiny outdoor café. Elena takes a sip of her coffee and presses her lips together as she tries to understand some of the conversation. She finally admits defeat when they start motioning to the tiny pastries; she had been certain they were talking about something entirely different.

Elena tucked her dark hair behind her ears and stared in disdain at the table in front of her. A blank notebook sat beside her open laptop. Her hard eyes stared at the blinking cursor in the empty word document. She scrunched her nose in concentration trying to will the words onto the page, but she was stuck for inspiration.

 _This is worse than the time Miss French told us to write a Facebook bio for an underappreciated character,_ Elena frowned at the memory of her high school English teacher. She was just about to close her laptop in defeat when she was met with an unusual sight.

Elena peered through the crowd to see a young girl, no more than fourteen, openly weeping as she read a letter. She sat on the curb outside of an entrance to a teeming courtyard. Elena felt her heart break a little as the girl sobbed; tears ran down her face as she peered at the paper in her shaking hands.

Elena met the girl’s eyes when she looked up. She did not seem fazed by the strange woman watching her from across the street. Her teary eyes met Elena’s concerned gaze through the throngs of people that passed between them. Elena offered her a comforting smile that fell when the girl turned away.

The girl heaved one last sob before signing her name on the letter and dropping it into an envelope. She shakily stood to her feet and disappeared through the entrance to the courtyard.

Elena chewed her lip. Her eyes flickered between the courtyard and the apartment. She made up her mind a moment later and grabbed her things. She tossed a few euros on the table before striding across the street.

She stepped lightly into one of the strangest scenes she had ever seen. Dozens of teenage girls mill about; their hushed voices remind Elena of early morning mass. A sense of reverence lingered in the air, and she was hesitant to break it. A plaque by the entrance told her that this was the courtyard of Juliet Capulet.

Elena passed a small group of girls staring up at the balcony. Three more stand and stare at a statue of the fictional girl. She is surprised to see that Juliet’s left breast shone brighter than the rest of the statue; no doubt a result of hundreds of women reaching for her heart.

It took Elena several minutes to find the young girl from the street. There was an air of hope to the set of the girl’s shoulders in spite of the despair so evident on her face.

She was standing in front of a wall that had been covered in hundreds of envelopes. There are letters wedged between the bricks. There are letters that are held in place with gum. It didn’t matter how they were held in place though because each letter was addressed to the same woman: Juliet.

Elena watched the girl find a bare spot in the bricks to wedge her letter. Once the paper is secure she turns and starts to walk out of the courtyard. Elena steps in front of her with concern etched into the planes of her face.

“Are you okay?” She regards the crying girl through compassionate eyes. After a beat it became clear the girl did not understand her, or she just didn’t want to talk to a complete stranger. She stepped around Elena and left the courtyard without a word. Elena’s eyes followed her movements.

“Her heart is broken,” a soft voice called from behind her.

Elena spun around to find a pretty young woman with dark hair and eyes. She looked to be in her early twenties. “Do you know her?” Elena tilted her head to the side.

The pretty woman shook her head.

“Then how do you know her heart is broken?”

She nodded towards the letter sitting in the wall. “She wrote to Juliet.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow…” Elena frowned at the letter. “What does the letter have to do with her heart?”

“When your leg is broken you go to the doctor. When your heart is broken, you come to Juliet.”

“There are so many of them,” Elena ran her hand along the rough stones of the wall. “Why do they do it?”

“They want answers.”

“That they will never get,” Elena cast a sideways look at her companion.

“Says who?” The woman started pulling letters from the wall. She dropped them into a basket in her hand.

Elena stared aghast at the woman’s actions. “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” She continued placing the envelopes in her basket.

“Because…” Elena stammered. She thought for a second before finding the perfect simile. “It’s like taking pennies out of a wishing well. These are people’s wishes,” she motioned to the growing pile of paper, “you can’t just take someone’s wishes.”

“If I don’t take them,” she smiled a gentle smile, “how are we to give them answers?”

Elena stepped back. She regarded the earnest young woman with a curious stare.

“Who’s we?”

“Myself,” she introduced herself as Sarah, “and others.”

Sarah motioned for Elena to follow her. “I’ll show you.”

Elena followed Sarah from the courtyard after giving her name. They stepped across a tiny alley and into a hole in the wall restaurant. Elena glanced up to read the sign ‘Lettere a Giulietta’.

She followed Sarah into a bustling kitchen. A no-nonsense matron was barking orders at the staff when Sarah approached her.

“Mama, this is Elena,” she introduced her new friend. “I’m going to show her upstairs.”

Elena returned the woman’s warm smile. She glanced at the basket full of letters in her daughter’s hands. “It looks as though you’ll be having a very busy night.”

Sarah nodded. A playful grin spread across her lips when she motioned for Elena to follow her upstairs. The women glided into a small room. Elena thought it looked like a modern office; there were desks in each corner of the room, and a table in the center. Light filtered in from large windows that looked out into a courtyard. There were various posters on the wall from every past version of Romeo and Juliet.

Elena gave a small half wave to the three women when Sarah introduced her. “These are the secretaries of Juliet. We respond to letters that she gets from all over the world.”

“So you actually write back?” Elena’s eyes roam over the empty desk. A fountain pen rests beside a stack of off white parchment. There are envelopes and stamps on a shelf.

“We give them answers,” Sarah smiled. She quickly led Elena on a tour of the small room.

“How do you decide who answers each letter?” Elena took in the busy woman as they bent to their tasks.

“We all have our areas of expertise,” Sarah stopped behind an older woman who appeared to be in her seventies. “Maria has been happily married for fifty years so she tends to handle all of the marital issues.”

They stop behind the next desk where a bookish woman turns to smile at them. She looked like someone who had seen everything before retiring to a library.

“Francesca made her living as a nurse,” Sarah explained, “so she handles sickness.”

The last woman was bent over with age. Elena watched her shake her head while reading the letter.

“Donatella has twelve children,” Sarah grinned. She leaned closer to Elena as she explained, “twenty-seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren… she handles the family matters.”

“How about you?” Elena smiled.

Three heads turned in their direction when Sarah didn’t immediately answer.

“Anything to do with love…” Donatella nodded decisively.

“Sarah is the hopeless romantic,” Maria smiled fondly at the young woman.

“At least I’m romantic,” Sarah teased.

Elena struggled to wrap her mind around this new information. “Who pays for all of this?”

“We’re volunteers,” Sarah sat the basket on the long table. “We pitch in when we can.”

“That’s amazing,” Elena felt her jaw go slack. _They take time out of their busy lives to help others with letters._ She watched Maria select a letter from the basket. She stared at the letters with blatant curiosity.

“Would you like to help Elena?” Sarah lifted one of the letters postmarked from the UK.

Elena lifted her hands and waved. “I couldn’t,” her eyes focused on the letters, “I’m no expert in romance… or love, or anything really.” She nibbled her lip when she thought of just how far removed she felt from those things these days.

“All you have to do is read,” Sarah placed the envelope in Elena’s hand.

Elena’s fingers closed around the paper. She stared at it for a minute before sitting at the table and reaching for the letter opener. Elena lost track of how many letters she read as she sorted them into four piles: love, illness, marriage, and children.

_Dear Juliet, how do you know when you’re in love? Can you know?..._

_…Juliet, I don’t think I want to marry him, but I so want to get married. What do I do?..._

_… is it weird to think sex is gross? I mean cause is kind of is, right? I’m not like weird for thinking that right?..._

After the day’s letters had been sorted Elena sat and watched Sarah as she drafted a reply. Elena watched the flow of the pen through blinking eyes. She chewed the inside of her cheek before her voice broke the stillness of the room.

“Do you ever worry about being wrong?”

“What do you mean?” Sarah’s hand stilled over the page. She glanced at Elena with a furrowed brow.

“You’re giving them answers, but how do you know they’re right?” Elena’s eyes dropped to the elegant handwriting.

Sarah chewed over the question for a minute before she answered. “We don’t really tell anyone what to do. We just share what’s happened to us, we let them know that they are not alone in this world.” Her warm eyes met Elena’s confused gaze. “There are no wrong answers when you write from your heart, Elena.”

Elena felt a smile bloom across her face. She wondered what advice Juliet might offer her.

* * *

 

John excused himself from the editorial meeting when his phone began to buzz. He now stood in the hall with a look of regret on his face, he gazed longingly at the dreary staff room where the team was meeting.

“Let’s see if I’ve got this straight.” John pinched the bridge of his nose. “People all over the world are crazy enough to write love letters, and to ask the advice of a fictional girl who committed suicide… and these women, that you’ve fallen in with, are crazy enough to write back under the alias of Juliet. Is that it?”

“Yes…no,” Elena stammered. She tried to find the right way to spin her pitch. “I’d probably focus more on their moving, self-less attempts to…” She searched for the right phrase, “…spread hope, and answer love’s unanswered questions.”

John let his head fall back against the wall as he considered what she was saying. There was the potential of promise, but it wasn’t quite right.

“It’s not a feature, Elena. You don’t have a hook. Get a hook,” his made sure to emphasize the next part very carefully, “and _maybe, just maybe_ I will let you go fishing for more… And Elena?”

“Yeah,” she couldn’t keep the hope from her voice.

“Next time you call me,” he pushed away from the wall, “it better be to ask what kind of wine I like.”


	4. The Most Amazing Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet  
> It has only been 25 years since Esther left the letter. In the movie it was 50.  
> Elena is 24

Elena sat at a small table in the restaurant below headquarters, as she had come to call it. She was currently glaring at the cursor in the empty word document; it was cheerfully mocking her. The cursor taunted her in the way of a schoolyard bully. _‘You’ll never be good enough Elena… you don’t know your own mind Elena… just give up now Elena…’_

She briefly considered throwing the laptop across the restaurant, but her parents had taught her to use her words; physical violence was never the answer. She heaved a giant sigh before her eyes caught sight of Sarah.

The tiny brunette was approaching her table with a large plate of pasta. She set it before Elena with a flourish and a grin.

“I didn’t order…” Elena trailed off when she smelled the rich tomato sauce, and the variety of spices coming from the plate. She felt her mouth water and forced herself to swallow.

“These are my mother’s meatballs,” Sarah’s grin crinkled her nose. “They are famous around here. It’s my little way of saying thank you for yesterday.”

“Little?” Elena eyed the giant meat balls. Her attention was stolen by Stefan when he approached the table carrying her guidebook.

“My supplier meetings are over. I’m all yours,” he stooped to place a kiss on her cheek. “Do you want to check out the museum? I forget the name of it.”

“Stefan, this is Sarah,” Elena waved to her friend. “She is one of the secretaries I told you about last night.”

Sarah offered him a smile but Stefan’s attention had been caught.

“What is that glorious smell?” His hungry eyes landed on the plate in front of her. Stefan did not seem to hear when Elena called his name. He picked up her fork and took a large bite of the food.

Elena closed her eyes. Her hand curled into a fist against her thigh when Stefan groaned with pleasure.

“You like it?” Sarah asked.

Stefan pointed wildly to the plate. “Do you know what’s in this?” He emphatically shook his head when she started listing off the ingredients. A wild gleam had entered his green eyes; he leaned closer to Sarah. “History; years and years, generations and generations of history. Who made this?”

“Her mother,” Elena felt the smile strain her cheeks.

“I have to meet her.” Stefan immediately took off in the direction of the kitchen.

 _No doubt following his nose,_ Elena met Sarah’s curious dark eyes. She nodded once and Sarah took off after Stefan to make the introductions. Elena lifted the fork when she was alone. She eyed the meatball with a narrow gaze before taking a bite.

She shrugged and felt her head bob from side to side in reluctant agreement. “That’s a good meatball.”

* * *

 

Elena glanced at her watch. Her plate had long since been cleared, and still there was no sign of Stefan. She sighed before standing up and walking towards the kitchen.

Sure enough there he was. He stood beside the stove with Sarah’s mother. Elena should have been more surprised to see him in a chef’s uniform, but she wasn’t. A maniacal grin spread over his lips when he saw her.

“Have you met Angelina?”

“I have.”

“She’s a genius.”

“She is.”

Angelina blushed and pretended to hit Stefan with a wooden spoon. “He’s a charmer.”

“Isn’t he just?” Elena’s tight voice went unnoticed. She lifted the guidebook and tilted her head to the side before quirking her eyebrows. “Are you just about ready?”

“Well, actually…” He chuckled nervously and offered her a small shrug. “Angelina’s offered to let me work the dinner shift tonight. She’s going to teach me how to make that sauce.” His grin was hesitant. “Could you imagine that sauce in the restaurant?”

This time her annoyance was noted by the exasperated sigh. “What exactly am I supposed to do?”

“You could help us again,” Sarah stepped in trying to stop the lovers quarrel that she could smell brewing.

“That’s an awesome idea,” Stefan jumped at the possibility. “I’ll cook and you can write. It’s a win-win situation.”

Elena bit down on her cheek. Her eyes narrowed as she considered arguing with him, but ultimately she spun on her heel. Sarah snatched up her basket and hastened after the brunette.

Sarah watched as Elena pulled the letters from the wall with more force than was strictly necessary. The set of her jaw made it clear Elena was still ticked off.

Sarah gently pulled a letter from the wall; she turned it over in her hands while she eyed Elena. “Your Stefan… he’s very… passionate.”

“About food,” Elena gritted her teeth together. “ _My_ Stefan is very passionate about _food_.”

Sarah felt her eyes grow wide. She watched Elena for a second; her mouth popped open in preparation to say something before she thought better of it. She continued collecting the letters in silence with less aggression than Elena. They were headed out of the courtyard when Elena stopped and peered into a forgotten corner of the small square.

“We forgot one,” she strode over and took the envelope from the wall. She offered Sarah an apologetic smile when she accidentally dislodged a brick.

“It happens sometimes,” she shrugged.

“I’ll just put it back,” she froze when her eyes landed on something that had been hidden behind the bricks.

Her fingers hesitantly reached inside before closing around the folded paper. She stared in wonder at the stained envelope covered in old fashioned writing; the ink was as fine as a spider’s web.

“Sarah,” she whispered and turned the envelope around, “look at the date.”

* * *

 

“1993!” Sarah gasped when they stepped into headquarters. “Elena has found a letter from 1993.”

The secretaries immediately dropped what they were doing to crowd around the newest recruit. They stared down at the aged paper with hushed breaths. They all seemed a little scared to touch it.

“What does it say?” Francesca sat back in her seat and fixed Elena with an expectant stare.

Elena bit her lower lip to supress her grin. She carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the paper inside. Thankfully it was free of water damage. She glanced around the room before fixing her eyes on the delicate handwriting.

_“I didn’t do it, Juliet. I didn’t go to him. I didn’t go to Ansel. I remember the first time those blue eyes met mine. He made me feel loved, and desired. We made plans to run away together._

_I was on holiday with my husband; things just haven’t been the same since we lost our Freya. It was a marriage of convenience, but he was a good person. He is no longer the man I married; he is cold and distant. At times he is even violent. In spite of this I could not leave him; I want to, but I’m afraid. I stay only because I am afraid of what I will lose; afraid of the unknown._

_The worst thing though, is not being with him; not being with Ansel._

_I don’t know what to do. Please tell me what to do._

_Love,_

_Esther.”_

Elena blinked back the tears that flooded her eyes. The only sound in the otherwise silent room was her heavy breaths.

Sarah was the first to break the silence. “I think she came back. She left him and came back for her one true love.” She sighed dreamily, “and she made sweet love to her Ansel for the rest of her life; to this day.”

“I think she found him,” Francesca grinned. “They had ten kids before he got old and fat. She wonders everyday what happened to that gorgeous man she left her family for.”

“I think she stayed in England,” Maria harrumphed. “She stayed with her husband.”

“I’m willing to bet every time she makes love to her husband,” Donatella nodded, “she is thinking about her one true love.” She grinned conspiratorially, “I do that all the time.”

Laughter filled the room. Elena alone remained stoic as she stared at the letter still clutched in her hands. “I want to write back.”

“Why?” Maria shook her head and laughed. “She’s probably moved.”

“She could even be dead,” Donatella frowned.

“Maybe,” Elena nodded. Her eyes fell to the paper again, “but she wanted an answer.”

“Then give her one,” Sarah passed her a pen.

* * *

 

Several hours later the secretaries had responded to the majority of the letters. The responses were piled in the basket ready to be delivered to the post office while Elena continued to work on her reply to Esther; she chewed over every word before putting the pen to paper.

“Let’s hope she doesn’t have a terminal illness,” Sarah’s amused gaze fell on the letter in front of Elena. “She’s going to need time.”

“Is it too long?”

“No,” Sarah laughed, “not for a novel.” She pulled on her coat and headed out the door. “Lock the door and turn off the lights when you’re done.”

An hour later, Elena dropped the addressed envelope in the basket. Her mouth opened in a yawn as she held her hands over her head and stretched. She turned to the door when someone knocked.

“Hey,” she offered Stefan a small smile. She was too happy to pick a fight right now.

Stefan sat a plate of food on the table in front of her before kissing her forehead. “Did you have fun being a secretary today?”

“I did,” Elena hummed, “I had forgotten what it was like to just write. It was amazing.”

“I’m glad.”

“How did things go with Angelina?” She started eating. Elena sensed the question might upset the euphoria that had settled over her mind, and she was right.

“Unreal,” Stefan started gesturing with his hands as a grin bloomed over his face. “I thought I was a good chef, but she has so much to teach me. She cooks from feel Elena… from feel!” He held his hands in front of him; his fingers met his thumbs as he continued. “She doesn’t measure anything, or time anything, and it all comes out perfect. I could learn so much from her in a week...”

Elena felt her eyes narrow as he trailed off. She knew exactly what he was asking. Elena dropped the fork on the plate; the pasta suddenly tasted like a bribe.

“You promised me,” she stared at him. “You promised this trip wouldn’t be just about the restaurant.”

“I know,” Stefan placed his hands on the table and leaned over to meet her angry brown eyes. “This is a chance for me to learn over forty years of experience. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me… for us…”

Elena stood up and sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair.

“I haven’t said yes, and I did promise,” Stefan dragged his feet over the floor, he stuffed his hands into his pockets, “if you say don’t do it I won’t do it.”

Elena suppressed a groan. She knew she couldn’t actually tell him no. This was his dream, and she couldn’t crush his dream.

“Okay.”

“Is that okay like it’s really not okay?” Stefan gave her a hopeful look.

“It’s just okay.”

Stefan grinned widely. He cupped her cheeks between his hands and pressed a firm kiss to her lips.

Elena wanted nothing more than to lose herself in a kiss, but unfortunately her feet remained firmly planted in the office; she heard soft chatter drifting up from the restaurant. She tried to smile when he pulled away, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Stefan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her out the door. She turned off the lights and pulled the door shut behind her.

Later that night she lay in bed watching the moon through the window. Stefan snored lightly behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see that he was lying flat on his back; the broad expanse of his chest exposed where the blankets had drifted down. She rolled over and stared at the ceiling; her fingers fell to the cold space between them.

When she thought about it things hadn’t been the same since he attended the culinary school. In the beginning he would cook for her and she would marvel in the sensuality of the food. There had been some truly erotic nights spent in the bedroom after a glorious meal; even in the kitchen at times. That was three years ago, and things had certainly cooled since then. She glanced at Stefan’s sleeping form from the corner of her eye.

They had been together since high school, but for the life of her Elena could not remember the last time they had been _together_.

_Where did the passion go?_


	5. She's Come to Find Her Ansel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD, TO, or Letters to Juliet.  
> Honestly I just have an Elejah addiction that needs to be fed constantly.

Over the course of the week Elena explored Verona. She wandered down cobblestone streets, and past buildings that made her think she had stepped into a renaissance painting. She crossed the Roman Ponte Pietro and watched the river rush under the wide arches of the bridge.

She stumbled across a street market in the centre of the city and toured the Verona Arena; the white and pink limestone seemed to whisper of past performances.

She visited the Museo Castelvecchio and marveled at the variety of sculptures hosted by the medieval castle.

She ate dinner with Stefan and Angelina both nights. Stefan chattered away with Angelina while Elena sat back and sipped on her wine.

Elena window shopped along the Via Mazzini while carrying a few bags in her hands.

The day before they were due to move on from Verona Elena she returned to the office to share a meal with her new friends.

* * *

 

Stefan hummed to himself as he danced around the kitchen. He skillfully avoided the hustling wait staff when they moved through the room. He enjoyed the chaos of the tiny kitchen. Beads of sweat formed on his brow as he enthusiastically chopped, stirred and tasted a variety of dishes.

Finally Stefan tasted the famous meatballs and marinara that he had been so eager to learn. He grinned maniacally as he savored the taste and adamantly refused to allow the waiter to deliver the dish.

He hefted the plated food in his hand. Stefan took a deep breath and made the sign of the cross before barging out of the bustling kitchen. He strode into the restaurant towards the Secretaries of Juliet where they sat at a table sipping wine with Angelina.

Stefan placed the large plate of meatballs on the table and puffed out his chest. “Ladies, I give you my balls.”

After a pregnant pause, where they all pressed their lips into a firm line, the ladies all burst out in a fit of hysterical laughter.

“Please,” Stefan’s eyes twinkled, “help yourselves.”

“Perhaps if I were thirty years younger,” Maria giggled and ran her eyes slowly down Stefan’s body. Her comment sent her companions into another fit of laughter.

“You’re either very brave… or very stupid,” Francesca started to dish out the food, “to attempt Angelina’s meatballs.”

Everyone tucked into the food. Stefan watched with bated breath as each woman slowly chewed with thoughtful expressions. Nobody wanted to offer their opinion before Angelina nodded approvingly. Once the matron had smiled the others broke into a small round of applause.

Stefan grinned. The joy flowed through every fibre of his being. Before he could stop himself he had bent over and kissed Angelina full on the mouth.

Elena carefully considered the flustered look on the older woman’s face. A flush had spread over her cheeks at Stefan’s actions.

Elena leaned towards Sarah and whispered: “I remember when he used to have that effect on me…” _in high school…_

Sarah laughed nervously before standing up and raising her glass. “I’d like to propose a toast to our new friends. They leave us tomorrow to move onto Palermo but will always remain in our hearts. To Stefan and Elena,” she raised her glass.

Sarah’s toast was echoed as the table lifted the wine before taking a long drink. Stefan’s eyes took in the laughing faces of the woman at the table, before settling on Elena. His eyes sparkled with a secret he had no intention of keeping.

“Elena?”

Elena turned to see him smiling broadly. _Is he going to suggest we stay here for the remainder of the vacation?_ “What?”

Stefan’s grin grew bigger. “I want you to be my front of house.”

Elena felt her brows draw together in confusion; “your what?”

Her stomach clenched when he dramatically stood before falling to one knee in front of her. Elena knew her eyes must be comically wide when he took her hand; one word flowed through her head: _NO!_

Stefan stared into her wide eyes. “Will you be my front of house?”

“I-is that code for something?” Elena tilted her head slightly to the side. “Is it a metaphor?”

“I want you to run the restaurant,” Stefan squeezed her hand.

_Of course… it’s about the restaurant._ Elena felt her mouth pop open. They had been together nearly six years, and he had the audacity to get on one knee for that. It wasn’t like she wanted to say yes to the question she had thought he was going to ask, but there were so many better reasons for Stefan to get down on his knees; none of which he had done in years.

“What about my job?” She furrowed her brows.

“You hate your job,” Stefan stood up and stretched.

“Yeah,” Elena nodded slowly, “but I love writing. I still want to write Stefan… you know that.”

Stefan frowned in confusion. “You always talk about wanting to take a step back, and make a change,” he laughed and shook his head. “This is a change.”

Elena slapped her hands down on her thighs. “I was thinking more along the lines of the New Yorker… not Zagats.”

Stefan pressed his lips together in a thin line. _This is not going the way I thought it would._ He cleared his throat before sighing. “I want us to do this together… it won’t be the same without you, Elena.”

Elena stared at him. She couldn’t think of a single word to say. Stefan had always known she wanted to write; in high school he had even encouraged her. She sat there and struggled for the words to say. Luckily she was saved from providing an answer.

A tall man in a suit, with dark hair and eyes had entered the restaurant. He stood by the door and scanned the room quickly before he approached their table. Elena found that her eyes lingered on his chiseled jaw before finding his intense eyes.

“Excuse me,” he smiled politely at them, “I’m so sorry to interrupt but are you the Secretaries of Juliet?”

Elena’s brain stuttered when she heard his smooth voice; she had always been a sucker for an accent. He sounded vaguely English, and that had a series of memories flooding her brain.

“That’s us,” Sarah nodded.

“Great,” his smile suggested he was relieved. “So, which one of you wrote this letter to my mother, Esther Mikaelson?”

Elena smiled and resisted the urge to jump up and dance. Her letter had found its way to the proper recipient, or rather her son. She stood up.

“I wrote it,” she felt a shiver travel the length of her spine when he met her eyes.

He couldn’t stop his eyes from scanning the brunette from head to toe. She was undeniably attractive. He forced himself to meet her sparkling eyes.

“I can’t believe it actually found you,” her smile made her eyes sparkle with glee.

“We tend to stay in our ancestral homes in Britain,” he straightened his spine and tried to remember his previous anger; it was very difficult in the face of her enthusiasm. “It was a very thoughtful letter,” he sighed.

“Thank you,” Elena blushed prettily.

His stomach quivered when she glanced down at the table. _Knock it off, Elijah. She’s clearly taken._ He remembered seeing the man on his knee from the window. _Maybe even engaged;_ that last thought was enough for him to refocus.

“Now if you wouldn’t mind,” his voice raised slightly as he remembered the true purpose of this trip, “telling me what the bloody hell you were thinking?”

Elena’s mouth popped open. She stared at him as she slowly processed the outrage on his face. She was sorely tempted to pick something off the table and throw at him; how dare he be angry with her for writing a letter? What concern was it of his anyway?

Her mother’s words came back to her: _Use your words, Elena._ She pressed her lips together and motioned for him to follow her to an empty table in the corner of the restaurant.

They sat down and she drew in a deep breath through her nose before finally answering him. “She deserved an answer.” The statement was simple; matter of fact. Elena met his fierce gaze with one of her own.

The challenge in her eyes made him want to argue. “Back then maybe,” he acquiesced, “not now.”

“Why not…?” Elena hadn’t had a good verbal sparring match in years. She wondered if this stranger was up for the challenge.

“Elijah,” he answered her unasked question. He quirked one eyebrow in inquiry and waited. _It’s been a while since anyone challenged me._

“I’m Elena,” her eyes searched his heated gaze. She repeated her earlier question. “Why not, Elijah?”

“Because, Elena,” her name rolled off his tongue in the most delicious way, “She was little more than a teenager than, and now she’s fifty-one.”

“I can do math,” Elena crossed her arms and leaned on the table. “Math is not a good enough reason to not write a letter.”

“It was a teenage infatuation,” Elijah lowered his voice and rested his arms on the table, “a holiday romance, could you imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t seen sense?”

“Did you actually read her letter?” Elena felt the corners of her mouth pull down in a frown. _Her letter did not seem like a teenage infatuation, she knew what it was… she was just scared._

“Of course not,” he shook his head, “I asked her and she told me.”

“When do you think this letter was written?” Elena leaned closer and whispered.

“Over thirty years ago, why?”

Elena pressed her lips together and allowed her eyes to roam over him again. He was perhaps one of the most attractive men she had ever seen, but looking at him she could not deny that he was definitely a few years older than she was. And Elena had been born the year the letter had been written. _She had another child… that’s what she was afraid of losing._

“She left the letter in the wall in March of 1993,” Elena looked up at him through her lashes. She allowed the information to sink in.

Elijah took a moment to process before doing some fast math in his head. He definitely had something to discuss with his mother, but for now he needed to focus on the infuriating woman in front of him who had just thrown a live grenade into his life.

“What good could possibly have come from sending that letter?”

“What harm could possibly come from it?” She countered. A small smirk played at the corner of her lips.

Their eyes met in an intense stare. Electricity sizzled in the air between them. Elena finally broke the silence with a soft whisper.

“So, you came all the way from England to give me a lecture.” She was a little amused by the revelation; this man was clearly intense. “I’m impressed,” her eyes flickered over his face, “or did you just happen to be in the neighborhood?” She was shocked to find her tone teasing.

“No,” Elijah shook his head and leaned further across the table until only a few inches of space separated them, “I came because I couldn’t let me mother come alone.”

“Esther’s here?” Elena’s heart fluttered in her chest. She wanted nothing more than to meet this woman and learn how her life had truly played out. “Why?”

“You seem like an intelligent woman, Elena.”

She shivered as her name rolled off his tongue again.

“I think you can work that one out.”

“OMG, she’s come to find her Ansel,” Elena laughed. “That’s awesome.” Her eyes flickered quickly around the room as if expecting the woman to materialize any moment. “I want to meet her.”

“And I want to play for Manchester United,” Elijah shook with a silent laugh, “but I’m shit at football.”

“You really don’t think she’d want to meet me?” Elena tilted her head to the side and smirked an infuriating smirk.

Elijah felt the urge to remove that smirk from her lips. Since he couldn’t wipe it away with his preferred method he settled on his words. “I honestly think she has no interest in meeting a woman who can manage to jam ‘OMG’ and ‘awesome’ into the same sentence.”

His words had the desired effect, kind of, the smirk fell lightly. “Did you ask her?”

“The idea would not occur to her,” he waved his hand dismissively. The action caused his fingers to brush against her arm. Shockwaves ran up his arm at the light touch.

“Where are you staying?”

Elijah laughed. “Do you really think I’m that stupid?” He couldn’t quite get the image of her in their rented apartment out of his mind.

Elena’s eyes quickly flickered over what she could see of his body. “I haven’t decided yet,” she pretended to frown as if deep in thought.

Elijah watched her carefully for a moment before standing up from the table.

“Why did you come here, Elijah?”

“I was just curious,” he chuckled without humor, “what kind of imbecile would think writing that letter was a good idea. I should’ve known it was an American.” He met her hurt gaze. “Good night, Elena.”

She stared after him for a moment; her body glued to the chair. She looked across the open floor to Stefan who was smiling and laughing as he served more food. The Secretaries applauded his cooking while he beamed. It would be nothing for her to slip back to the table. It would be nothing to return to the mostly silent witness she had somehow become; to a place where she was nothing.

She thought for a minute as she watched Elijah leave. She had known this man for a fraction of an hour, and yet he had made her feel more emotions than she had in a long time; her letter… her writing had caused his anger. Her letter had altered the course of his mother’s life and by extension his.

She was surprised when there was no hesitation in her movements.

She snatched her coat and ran into the night.

Elena was tired of being nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? I love reviews; they make me smile whenever they pop into my inbox.  
> Why would Esther not tell her son everything? Can anyone figure out what kind of math he was doing?


	6. A Story Worth Telling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet.

Elena stepped out of the restaurant and slipped her arms into the sleeves of her jacket. She peered left and right before she caught sight of Elijah as he rounded the corner. Elena took a deep breath before she followed him at a careful distance.

She stilled when she saw his shoulders stiffen. Elena darted into a tiny shop when he quickly turned around.

Elena waited a beat before she returned to the street. She followed him for ten minutes before he finally entered his hotel.

She stood outside the fancy hotel and shivered. _What am I doing? I should turn around now._ She stared at the building and read the name on the crimson awning: _Relais De Charme._ Her eyes darted back in the direction she had come from; Elena found she didn’t want to return to Stefan. She steeled her nerves and stepped inside.

It was a lovely hotel full of old world charm; much like the one she was staying in. Elena’s gaze swiveled around before settling on the reception desk. She clasped her hands behind her back and strode towards the young woman with a show of confidence.

“Esther Mikaelson, please.”

“One moment, miss,” the receptionist smiled and tapped away at her keyboard. Her eyes scanned the screen quickly before she met Elena’s eager gaze. “Ms. Mikaelson is in apartment 6.”

“Thanks,” Elena grinned and headed in the direction of the elevator. Apartment 6 was on the third floor.

She slowly walked down the hallway to stand at her destination. Elena’s eyes stared at the number emblazoned on the door. She took a deep breath and knocked. Her fingers nervously straightened her clothes. She smiled brightly when she saw the doorknob begin to turn; the smile dropped from her face when the door swung open to reveal Elijah.

“What are you doing here?” He whispered. Elijah quickly moved into the hall and pulled the door until it was half closed.

Elena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. As if he didn’t know why she was there; she had all but told him back at the restaurant. “I think even you can work that one out.”

Elijah met her steady eyes. He kept his voice low so as not to alert his mother to the presence of Elena in the hall. “I told you she does not want to see you.”

“No,” Elena smirked, “you told me it wouldn’t cross her mind to want to meet with me.” She tilted her head to the left as her eyes sparkled. “Not wanting to meet me, and not thinking of meeting me are two very different things.”

A soft voice called out from the interior of the apartment. “Who is it Elijah?”

Elena didn’t give him a chance to respond before she leaned forward to shout around him. “My name’s Elena. I wrote the letter.”

“Oh,” Esther’s voice was pleasantly startled, “well, don’t stand around in the hall dear, come in.”

Elijah glared at her as she smiled triumphant and skipped inside when he reluctantly opened the door.

Elena walked into the room and froze when she saw her. Esther Mikaelson was a beautiful woman at the age of fifty-one. For a moment, when she stood up, Elena thought she looked like the young woman who had written the letter twenty five years before.

Elena took the offered hand and shook. She smiled and gave Esther a long look. “You look just like I thought you would look.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment, my dear,” Esther grinned, “since you were writing to a 26 year old woman.”

Elena’s eyes sparkled as she joined Esther in a soft laugh. She could see Elijah from the corner of her eye; he did not look amused.

“How did you find us?”

Elena chuckled, “Elijah found _me_ , actually.”

Esther turned to look at her son who offered her a small shrug and a sheepish smile.

“He told me you were here,” Elena cast Elijah a glittering look and silently dared him to contradict her; “he thought you might like to meet me.”

“How uncharacteristically thoughtful of you, darling,” she gave her son a knowing look.

Elijah took a moment to absorb Elena’s innocent smile and doe eyes before her responded to his mother.

“Under the circumstances it seemed impolite not to meet with the person responsible for this voyage of lunacy,” he smirked around the last word. He was very much aware of just how mad the trip was and the conversation he had to have with his mother.

“Elijah doesn’t approve,” Esther giggled. The girlish sound seemed to surprise her son. “That just makes this all the more fun. Would you like some tea, Elena? Oh,” she stammered apologetically, “you’re American we’ll order coffee. Elijah?”

Esther turned to lead Elena towards the table. Elena met Elijah’s glare with dancing eyes before following his mother.

Fifteen minutes later they were all sitting around the table sipping coffee.

“I waited for a reply to that letter for two years,” Esther ran her finger around the top of her cup. “I even plucked up the courage once to come back and find him, but I only made it to Waterloo before turning around.”

Elijah felt a throb in his stomach when he heard her words. His mother had considered leaving when he was 4 years old. _Did she take him?_ “Why is it you never mentioned him, then?”

“It was a long time ago,” Esther smiled softly. “I tried to forget… but you know he was first person to ever tell me I was beautiful.” She chuckled and wiggled her eyebrows, “it sounded very romantic in Italian.”

“I’ll bet,” Elena sighed at the thought.

“Esther, siete cosi bella.”

“But you and father were happy enough, weren’t you?” Elijah had always known his parents did not love each other, but they had seemed happy enough. Had they only remained together for the sake of him and his siblings? If it had not been for Finn and he, would she have gone through with the plan to run away.

“’Happy enough’ is definitely the correct term,” Esther chuckled darkly. “We were the perfect couple, with much to be grateful for,” she sighed, “good health… wonderful children… except for you, darling, you have been the bane of my existence.”

Elena laughed when Esther poked fun at her very serious son. She turned to face the young brunette.

“Then Mikael died,” she glanced at her son, “there’s a lot of Mikael in Elijah – funnily enough. I grieved for years;” _more so for Henrik,_ “as time went by his memory became a distant glow. Then, unexpectedly, at odd hours of the day, I would find myself thinking of Ansel.” _Especially when I would see the passionate way Niklaus threw himself into his painting._ “It made it all the more extraordinary when your letter arrived. I am so very grateful that you wrote it; especially as there were so many reasons not to.”

_I’ll say_ , Elijah thought. There was one question he had to ask; one question he thought he already knew the answer to, but he needed to hear it from his mother.

“Mother,” Elijah watched the coffee as it spun in the cup, “you wrote that letter in March of 1993?”

“Yes, darling,” Esther took a sip of her coffee.

“Niklaus was born during a storm in November…”

“Yes, darling,” she took another sip. Her eyes focused on the table top before she turned her head to look at him, “don’t tell your brother.”

_OMG,_ Elena’s eyes widened, _no wonder he’s so mad; I altered his entire memory of his childhood._ She cleared her throat to get their attention. “So, what happens now?”

“Well,” Esther smiled; thankful for the turn in conversation, “I think we’ve found him.”

“Really? Where?” Elena leaned across the table eager to hear everything.

“Just outside Verona,” Esther set her empty cup on the table. “It’s quite close to where he used to live.”

“That’s amazing,” Elena grinned. She couldn’t believe how quickly she had managed to locate her Ansel.

“Elijah thinks it’s a dreadful mistake,” Esther shook with laughter.

“It’ll be fine,” Elena assured them both. “It will,” she startled when she caught sight of her watch. “I’m really sorry,” she smiled apologetically; “I have to go. I’m flying to Palermo with my boyfriend for a few days before we go home. He’s found some kind of weird cheese down there.”

_She’s taken;_ Elijah frowned at the now certain knowledge. He thought it must be his imagination the way her voice hardened when she said the word ‘boyfriend’. He pressed his lips together when he thought of her returning to her the man from the restaurant.

“Of course you are,” Esther frowned. She met Elena’s eyes as she stood up, “thank you so much for the letter.”

“Your welcome.” Elena was startled when Esther pulled her into a warm hug; distant memories of her own mother lingered around the edge of her mind.

“It’s been a pleasure,” Elijah extended his hand stiffly.

“We have very different ideas of pleasure,” Elena met his intense eyes when he held her hand a beat longer than necessary. Sparks shot up her arm from where their hands were joined.

Elijah’s eyes glittered with amusement at her directness. He found himself wondering if all American’s were like her. The urge to wipe the smirk from her face returned with a vengeance.

Esther looked up from where she had been scrawling something on a piece of paper. She did not miss the heated look that was being passed between the young woman and her son; she couldn’t remember ever seeing him look at someone like that, although she was sure he had.

She found that she was extremely disappointed to see the young woman leave; almost as disappointed as Elena was to go. Esther interrupted their staring contest to give Elena the paper.

“My phone number; will you call me?”

“Of course,” Elena mourned the loss of his hand. “I have to know how this ends.”

* * *

 

Elena folded her clothes absentmindedly and dropped them into her suitcase. Her head was still back in Esther’s hotel room. She chattered excitedly as she packed to Stefan who was half listening while he packed his own suitcase. If Elena was being honest with herself her mind was not completely on Esther, but she had a habit of denying things when they pertained to her own feelings.

“I really hope it works out for her…” she searched under the bed for her shoes.

“Hmmm…” Stefan folded a pair of pants.

“Imagine if they found each other after all this time,” Elena sighed. She popped into the bathroom to grab her straightener and makeup bag.

“That’d be something,” Stefan mumbled while he folded a t-shirt.

Elena continued as if she hadn’t heard him. She kept seeing Esther in her mind’s eye; she was trying to picture the reunion that was in the making. “They find each other again after all this time because I found a letter in the wall, it’s crazy,”  she grinned, “it’s not like any story I’ve ever heard.”

“Right,” Stefan agreed silently.

Elena’s clouded eyes cleared when he agreed with her. She felt like she was waiting for something, and then the penny dropped.

“I have to write it!” Her smile made her brown eyes sparkle with life.

Stefan didn’t look up from where he was checking their reservations. “You can start on the plane.”

There was no hesitation in her voice; she had realized exactly what she was meant to do. “I have to stay.”

“What?” Stefan’s head whipped up so fast Elena worried he might get whiplash. His hands braced on the bed as he leaned across to be as close as the space allowed. His green eyes were glued to Elena beneath his heavy brows.

Elena couldn’t remember the last time she had completely commanded his attention; she took a second to think over exactly what this meant. She didn’t dwell on the thought long enough to wonder why it did not bother her; she just appreciated that he was finally paying attention to her.

“I have to know how it ends,” she bounced on the balls of her feet.

“What about Palermo,” Stefan demanded, “and the cheese?”

“You don’t need me for cheese,” Elena chuckled humourlessly. _You haven’t needed me this whole trip._ “You can pick me up on the way back.” She didn’t stop the edge that had entered her voice. “I’ll write... you taste… win-win.” She held up her hands innocently before she started pulling her clothes out of the suitcase.

“Can we at least discuss this?” Stefan hurried around the bed and closed the top of her suitcase before she could finish unpacking.

“I started it,” Elena glared at his hands and opened her case; “I have to finish it.” She wondered silently why it was okay when he wanted to stay behind and do something.

Stefan realized his original argument was not going to work, so he switched tactics. “Who are these people? Are you really just going to go off with them? They could be serial killers…”

Elena’s sardonic laugh cut him off. “Killers who oh-so-cleverly planted a quarter of a century old love letter for me to find? How devious,” she held her hand over her heart in pretend shock.

Stefan watched her unpack and struggled to come up with a good reason for her to join him.

“Who’s going to take the pictures?”

* * *

 

_“I already have the title: ‘Does True Love have a Shelf Life?’”_

John scrolled through his email while he listened to her talk. He quickly typed out a response to one of his columnists and chewed on his Chinese food.

“You don’t really think she’ll find this guy?” John chuckled. “A hundred bucks says he is either dead, married, or gay.”

_“What if he’s not? What if she does? What if that spark is still there after 25 years?”_

John tried to think of a reason to tell her no as he took a bite out of his egg roll; he came up empty. If he were being honest he wanted to read that story.

“There could be something there,” he admitted.

_“So I should write it?”_

“You can write it,” John sighed, “it doesn’t mean I’ll print it.”

* * *

 

Elena smiled and hung up her phone. She walked the final few steps to the door before raising her hand and knocking. There is no momentary disappointment when the door opens; instead she beams up at him.

“Hi!”

She feels her grin grow wider when he just shakes his head and sighs. She wondered if she imagined the tiny smile on his lips, and the happy glint in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews make people write faster. *points at the ceiling imperiously* It is a scientific fact. :)


	7. The First Ansel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet.

Elijah cast a narrowed eyed look at the brunette as she led them towards Juliet's house. It wasn't that he was unhappy to be spending more time with the attractive woman, in spite of how infuriating she could be, but he didn't fully understand why she was there. Right now she walked slightly ahead of him with his mother.

"Ansel had such a way with plants," Esther smiled fondly. "Working the fields was spiritual for him. He'd always talk about the land in Tuscany, the way it smelled, the moisture in the soil was perfect for the grapes he would grow one day." She turned her head to look down at the petite woman beside her. "He used to say that all he needed to be truly happy were days working in the fields and nights with me."

"That's so sweet," Elena sighed happily.

Esther's smile turned to a smirk as she gave the younger woman a conspiratorial whisper. "When he was working I used to wish the sun would come out because then he would have to take off his shirt."

"Mother!"

Esther continued gossiping with her new friend; she resisted the urge to laugh at the red that rose to stain her son's cheeks. "He was so solid. The sweat would glisten off his back like little jewels," she sighed dreamily. Her eyes were distant as she lost herself in the memory. "The thought of it still sends shivers down my spine."

"Okay," Elijah chuckled nervously, "I think we get the picture."

"What's the matter Elijah?" Esther gave her son an innocent look. "You don't approve of your old mum having carnal thoughts?"

"Oh for heaven's sake," his hand ran through his hair effectively rumpling his put together façade.

Elena thought the flush on his face was cute. Unbidden an image of his hair, completely rumpled, flooded her mind; his cheeks flushed for a very different reason. She mentally shook away the image and listened in to the argument.

"You are such a prude," Esther accused lightly, "and ageist."

"I am not," his jaw clenched, "I love old people."

"So long as they're not thinking dirty thoughts," Elena snickered. She leaned around his mother to quirk an eyebrow in his direction. She can saw his shoulders tense as he tried to come up with a witty reply; she interrupted him before he could. "We're here."

"I remember this so well," Esther took slow hesitant steps into the courtyard. "We were on our way home; I was so sad. Then I looked up at her and thought: she'll know what to do." She gazed up at the statue of Juliet.

"I'm sorry it took so long for her to get back to you."

"No matter, Elena," Esther smiled, "I'm here now."

Elena returned her smile before turning towards a familiar voice when it entered the courtyard. "Is this her?"

She approached them with a basket full of letters she had just taken from the walls.

"Esther, this is Sarah," Elena gestured to the woman she had come to think of as a friend. "She's one of the Secretaries of Juliet."

"Another interfering busy body," Elena shot him a glare when he spoke, "perfect."

"It's such a pleasure to meet you."

"And such an honor to meet you," Esther held out her hand for Sarah to shake. The look of surprise on her face was priceless when Sarah pulled her in to a hug and laid a kiss on both of her cheeks.

* * *

"Are you nervous?" Sarah smiled at Esther.

Esther sat in a place of honor at a table surrounded by the secretaries of Juliet. Elena and Elijah sat on either side of her as they ate dinner. Elena found herself shooting quick glares at a few of the secretaries when their eyes lingered a little too long on Elijah; luckily he hadn't noticed, as he was too pre-occupied listening to his mother.

Elena was a little unnerved by the knowing look in Sarah's eyes when she saw her glares.

"A bit I suppose," Esther sat her fork on the table. "What if I've turned him into something he isn't? Ansel has always existed in my mind's eye as a model of perfection, you know? Like a '57 Bentley Continental. What if he's actually an old man with bundles of nose hair? What if he doesn't remember me at all – if I was simply not to him what he was too me?"

"Then let's go home now," Elijah jumped in hoping to cash in on his mother's nerves, "before this whole thing ends in tears."

"What is with you?" Elena braced herself on the table and leaned as close as she possibly could to meet his bewildered eyes. "It's like you really don't want this to work out." Elena thought his aghast act was a little too well done.

"I'm a realist not a fantasist, that's the point." He knew he was lying about not being a fantasist when he stared into her fiery eyes.

"No it's not," Sarah shook her head. Her words interrupted the silent showdown. "The point is you're English." She leveled an accusing finger at him.

"No romance," Maria heaved an exaggerated sigh.

"Lots of cynicism," Francesca added.

"Cold as fish," Donatella spat.

Elijah's heated gaze circled the table. "You don't have to be as cold as a fish to think the idea of true love lasting forever is ridiculous." His lips twisted into a half smile. "Actually, come to think of it, the very idea of true love at all leaves one struggling."

"You don't believe in love?" Elena's head tilted to the side. She wondered who had hurt him so much that he had lost sight of why love was so important.

Elena's whispered question went unheard over the raucous laughter of the crowd. She saw Esther give her son a soft smile when she realized he wasn't laughing.

"Elijah, why don't you, get yourself out of the line of fire, and settle the bill?"

Before he could wave over the waiter Angelina stormed out of the kitchen to stand in front of him.

"No charge."

Elijah waved his hands, "we couldn't possibly."

"You can possibly."

He shut his mouth when he realized that this was not a woman he should mess with.

* * *

Elena watched as Esther chattered away with the secretaries a short distance ahead of her. She had fallen behind when she became lost in thought. She jumped when she heard a smooth voice beside her.

"You know," he fell into step beside her, "I'm not the buttoned up, buttock clenching, killjoy you lot are trying to make me out to be." He wasn't sure why he cared what her opinion of him mattered in the grand scheme of things; he just knew he did not want her to think of him that way.

"Sure," she nodded, "we just made you argue that true love is ridiculous. Thanks for clearing that up." She didn't know why it bothered her so much that he thought the way he did.

"It's just that…" his eyes sought out his mother, "I'm genuinely worried for her."

"She'll be fine."

"Physically, yes," he nodded, "but what if he breaks her heart? What if he laughs in her face? What if he doesn't remember her at all?" He turned his head to meet her eyes. "Is it so unreasonable for me to worry about that?"

Elena had always hated the words 'what if', but she found herself asking that question more and more these days; however it was not in regard to Esther. "My gut says that will never happen."

"Then you have greater faith in mankind then I do."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes just watching the woman ahead of them.

"Do you really think it's possible for two people to be apart for so long, and just pick up where they left off?"

Elena nibbled on the inside of her cheek before answering. "I don't know," she looked up into his eyes, "I hope so."

"Why are you doing this, Elena?"

She felt her spine prickle when her name slipped off his tongue; the sound caressed her ears. "To find out I guess," she smiled.

Later that night Elena sat at her desk and stared at the blinking cursor in the blank word document. Her fingers poised over the keys prepared to type; she wrote out the title and her name. A twisting sensation filled her stomach as she stared at the document. She closed the computer when she realized why this didn't feel right.

* * *

Elena helped Elijah load the rental car before placing her laptop bag over her shoulder. She stood beside the car door and chewed her lip.

"Before we go anywhere I need to be straight with you both." She laughed nervously and twisted the chain of her necklace. "My being here is not entirely selfless; it did start that way. And I do want to help, but I'd like to write an article about what happens. I want to tell your story Esther."

"A bloody journalist," Elijah shook his head, "I should have known."

"I'm hardly a journalist," Elena frowned sadly, "I'm a fact checker. I've never had a word published."

"And you think my mother's story is your ticket to being published, yeah?" He managed to keep the hurt from his voice.

"I think it's a story worth telling," Elena met his glare with one of her own. She was not going to back down; it wasn't his approval she needed anyway.

"Well," Esther smiled, "I think it's a marvelous idea. We both get something out of it. It's a … what do you call it Elena … a win-win?"

Elena turned to look at the woman and nodded.

"While I'm pleased for you both," Elijah's eyes darted between the two women, "where exactly do I fit into all this?"

"Don't worry, darling." Esther opened her car door and slid inside, "every story needs comedic relief."

"This is practically going to write itself," Elena's laughing eyes met his. She glanced at her bag when is started buzzing and fished around until she pulled out her cell phone. She grimaced when she saw the missed call.

"I missed Stefan. I had it on silent all night; he's probably frantic."

"I know I would be," Elijah smirked. "I'd have killed myself by now – in a most violent manner leaving a poignant note that would haunt you forever."

"Elijah!" Esther chastised him from inside the car.

Elena couldn't stop from smiling at Elijah as she dialed Stefan's number. "I hope he's not too worried."

* * *

Stefan gazed in wonder at a table full of samples that the stocky cheese maker had laid out for him. He looked much like a child on Christmas morning; he bounced from spot to spot unsure which cheese to sample first. He popped a piece of pecorino romano into his mouth and felt his taste bud's sing.

His silent phone flashed in its clip; a picture of Elena filled the screen.

* * *

Elena dropped her phone back in her bag before she got in the backseat of the car.

"Was he frantic?" Elijah started the engine.

"I couldn't get him," she admitted as she fastened her seatbelt. "He's probably out of range,"  _or too enthralled with his samples to pay his phone any attention._

"Or he's working on that note," he winced when his mother smacked the back of his head.

Elena laughed and settled into her seat. "How about you?" She fished. "Is there some lucky girl who makes you frantic?" She met his eyes in the rear view mirror.

"There is one – was one – until recently, Hayley. But the less said about her the better… so currently, no, I am without frantic in my life," he felt his stomach clench when she smiled, "and the sense of relief is palpable."

"For everyone, I'm sure," Elena grinned.

* * *

Elena leaned forward between the seats to talk to Esther, who had asked her about her boyfriend. Her arm felt warm where it brushed against Elijah's sleeve.

"Stefan and I met in high school. He worked at this little Italian place where I'd go to study every week. I'd get an espresso and water." She smiled at the wistful memory. "He would stop by my table and chat, tell me jokes, and make small talk. Then, one week he bought my espresso, a week later he bought me lunch, and a week after that he cooked me dinner. We moved in together a year after graduation."

"How romantic," Esther sighed.

"Yeah…" Elena's vacant eyes stared out at the road; sadly that was where the romance had died, "… it was…"

Elijah's voice pulled her back to the present. "So, you live with a waiter than?"

"Elijah," his mother scolded him, "don't be such a snob."

"I'm not," he snickered, "he might have been a bus boy."

"He's a chef actually," Elena watched Elijah from the corner of her eye, "a talented one. He's opening his own place… it's going to be great, I know it," she sighed. "He won't let it be anything else."

"He sounds like a catch," Esther smiled, "your mother must be pleased."

"I'm sure she would be," Elena frowned.

"Oh…" Esther turned in her seat to regard the girl with sympathy. "Has she passed on then?"

"More like moved on," Elena leaned back slightly. "My dad left when I was a baby, and my mom remarried. A few years later she left too; I was six."

"I'm sorry," Esther said.

"Don't be," Elena slumped back in her seat, "I'm not."

Elijah caught her reflection in the rear view mirror. As she stared out the window he knew that nothing could have been further from the truth. She was hunched over in her seat, and her face displayed a rare moment of vulnerability.

* * *

An hour later Elijah pulled onto a narrow country road and slowly drove past open fields and olive groves as he approached an old farmhouse. They all peered through the window when he put the car in park. Elena reached ahead to squeeze Esther's hand when she didn't move; she smiled and stepped out of the car.

The party of three slowly approached the old house. Elijah glanced back at his mother, and reluctantly knocked on the door when she nodded. After a moment, when nothing happens, he shrugged.

"It would seem nobody is in," he tried to move them back towards the car, "let's go."

"Elijah?" Elena called after him when he grasped his mother's hand and pulled her away from the house.

Her voice had the desired effect. He stopped and turned around as the front door opened to reveal a middle aged man roughly the same age as Esther.

Elijah rolled his eyes before speaking in fluent Italian. "Are you Ansel Bartolinni?"

The man nodded slowly. Elena exchanged an excited glance with Elijah; she was surprised to see some of her emotions mirrored in his eyes. She faltered when she saw Esther slowly shake her head.

"That's not him."

"Are you sure?" Elena glanced between Ansel and Esther.

"It's not him," she insisted.

"But he looks…"

"It's the eyes."

Elijah plowed on in Italian intent on proving his mother wrong; intent on seeing that things did not end in tears. "Do you remember who you were dating in March of 1993?"

"Ah," the man sighed wistfully, he spoke in accented English for the benefit of Elena, "March of '93, I'll never forget it, I met the most beautiful woman with long, golden hair…"

"Mom!" Elijah turned to see his mother as she walked towards the car.

"There not his eyes," she insisted again, "it's not him."

Ansel kept talking. His voice took on a hard edge. "We married that year… and she gave me nothing but trouble from that day on! I curse that woman!"

"Right…" Elijah and Elena carefully made their way to the car as Ansel continued to rave from his doorstep.

"I curse her eyes! I curse her teeth! I curse her little mustache!"

Elena felt herself shake with silent laughter when Ansel's voice was finally cut off. She cut off abruptly when Elijah spoke.

"Well that's that," he started the car with a cheery smile. "We gave it a shot; you can't say we didn't try. I'm sorry mother."

"Are you for real?" She leaned forward to brace herself on the console between them.

He huffed and spun to face her. His minty breath fanned across her face. "If I had any idea what that question meant, I might attempt to answer it."

"That man cannot be the only Ansel Bartolinni in Tuscany," her head tilted as she narrowed her eyes at him.

Elijah felt her hair brush against his shoulder when he leaned a little closer. "He's the only one around here. Are you suggesting we knock on the doors of every Ansel we can find?"

"Are you suggesting we don't?" Elena stared into his eyes; she realized when he glanced over her shoulder that there couldn't have been more than four inches between them.

Elijah could tell by the look on his mother's face that she wanted to keep looking. He met Elena's lively eyes and sighed. "This is madness, you realize that? Complete madness." If she had not been there Elijah might have easily succeeded in talking his mother into going home.

His breath fanned across her face and made her head spin momentarily; it cleared when she realized she had won the argument. She smirked like the cat that ate the canary.

"How many could there be?"

Elijah was glad that this woman was happily involved; otherwise he might have found him in a world of trouble.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do so love reviews


	8. How Many

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet  
> I had originally planned for more to be in this chapter, but I also hadn't planned on adding in a few extra things this chapter.   
> This gets NSFW towards the bottom; it's confined to the italics. Don't like don't read.

Esther lay on a sun bed that had been moved into the shade. She reclined gracefully and basked in the early morning heat of Tuscany.

Elijah’s arms cut relentlessly through the water of the pool. He swam furiously back and forth across the length of the hotel’s pool. He was well aware of the fact that he would be spending a lot of time behind the wheel of a car over the next few days, and as such Elijah was determined to get as much exercise as possible when he could.

Elena sat at a table a few feet away from Esther. Every once in a while she would look up from her laptop to follow the fierce path Elijah was cutting through the water. She idly wondered what other activities he approached with that type of intensity. Was he always like that, or was he just working off some steam?

She turned to Esther when the screen finally finished loading: “thirty-six.”

“That many?” Esther sighed. She laid a palm across her forehead when Elena nodded.

“I might be able to find some pictures online,” Elena moved to reassure her, “just give me a minute.”

Her attention was diverted in that moment when Elijah pulled himself out of the pool. Elena’s eyes followed the water that ran down his lean body and over his defined abdomen. The trails of water swiftly disappeared to be replaced by hundreds of droplets that glittered like tiny jewels along his chest; she imagined his back must look much the same way. She felt her own abdomen clench as she ran her eyes down his body again and whispered: “woah…”

Elena blushed when she realized Esther had caught her staring. “Did I say that out loud?” She was very glad that Elijah was out of earshot.

Esther smirked. Her eyebrows quirked, over her laughing brown eyes; “I believe the appropriate term these days is ‘ripped’, is it not?”

Elena laughed nervously. She immediately changed the subject. “Here we go,” she nodded to the computer screen, “I’ve found pictures of two of them.”

Esther pretended to not see Elena’s fading flush and peered at the screen. She shook her head a moment later.

“That leaves us with thirty four then.”

“Thirty four what?” Elijah approached them while using a towel to dry his sopping hair.

Elena forced herself to ignore his chest. She met his confused gaze with her twinkling eyes and smirked; “contestants for Italian idol.”

“Fantastic!” Elijah laughed. He started walking towards the hotel as he dried himself off.

Elena watched his retreating back for a moment before turning to Esther. “Is he really upset about all of this, or just pretending?”

“It’s a bit of both, I think,” Esther chuckled. She watched Elena type away at her laptop for a few minutes. She debated whether or not she should ask the question that had weighed on her mind since they had left the car ride the previous day.

“Tell me about your mother,” she requested softly.

Elena stared at her computer screen, “there’s nothing really to tell.”

“Indulge an old lady, please?”

Elena remained silent for a moment. She slowly turned to meet Esther’s kind eyes. There was no malicious sympathy there; she really wanted to know. Elena took a deep breath before she began.

“There’s really not much to say,” Elena shrugged, “I was young, so I don’t remember that much.” She peered into Esther’s eyes and found that she wanted to talk it out. “My dad was never involved in my life. My mother got married a few years after I was born, and then one day she just left; there was no warning, and no note.”

Elena felt tears well in her eyes. She blinked them back. “She didn’t leave a forwarding address. She didn’t even say good-bye.”

“And you haven’t seen her since you were six?” Esther covered the young woman’s hand with one of her own. She gently squeezed when Elena nodded and said she probably never would. “It must have been very hard on you.”

Elena gave a one shouldered shrug, and smiled sheepishly. “I started packing my own lunches a lot sooner than I should have; my step dad tried he did, but he was learning on the job.”

“Did you ever think of trying to find her?”

Elena nodded slowly. “I looked for years. And then one day I realized that she didn’t feel I was worth her time. Why should I have wasted my time on her?”

Elena drew in a shuddering breath and fixed her eyes on the tiles surrounding the pool; she willed the tears not to fall. She was oddly grateful for the gentle squeeze Esther gave her hand.

* * *

 

Elena took small bites of her dinner. The three of them had been eating in relative silence. She would have been lying if she said there wasn’t the slightest bit of tension around the table.

It was Esther who broke the stand-off.

“Elijah, have you told Elena about the Green Alliance?”

His eyes flickered from his mother to Elena. “I can’t imagine she’d care.”

“Try me,” Elena leaned against the table. There was a challenge in her dark eyes.

“Elijah is going to stand for parliament on the Environment Ticket,” Esther grinned with maternal pride.

Elena felt her eyebrows shoot up in genuine surprise. She had not pegged him for an environmentalist.

“You know…” Elijah carried on before his mother could, “… planting trees, air fare taxes, bicycle lanes, eliminating cars from Central London -,” an excited gleam had entered his eyes. His hands moved animatedly as he spoke; it was clear to Elena that he was very passionate about this. “It’s a brilliant idea that doesn’t stand a chance.”

“That’s amazing,” Elena stared at him with wide eyes.

“You look surprised,” Elijah’s eyes flickered from her large brown eyes to her open mouth.

“I guess I am,” she laughed softly, “I didn’t really have you pinned as a save-the-earth type.”

Elijah smirked and regarded her through narrow eyes. “What did you have me ‘pinned as’, exactly?”

“I don’t know,” Elena felt a smirk take over her face. She allowed her eyes to slowly roam over him as if attempting to slot him into a category. “I was leaning towards the ‘elitist Oxford prig’ type, but,” she pretended to nod in agreement, “now that you mention it ‘self-satisfied do gooder’ works too.”

“Well thank you,” Elijah arched an eyebrow and grinned. The three of them erupted in laughter a moment later.

“Don’t let him fool you, Elena,” Esther leaned across the table and ruffled her son’s hair, “he’s really just a little teddy bear.”

“Mother!” He ducked away from her hand and tried to flatten his hair.

Esther ignored him and grinned at Elena. “He’s still trying to work out our carbon footprint for the trip.”

“Another reason not to have come,” he frowned at her. It seemed his cheerful attitude had passed for the time being.

Esther snickered and gave him a sideways glance. “He’ll have me planting trees for months,” she covered her yawn with her hand and stood up. “You two be nice to each other now.”

Elena was mildly shocked when she dropped a kiss on top of her head after laying one on her son’s hair. She cleared her throat when Esther walked into the hotel. “She’s incredible.”

“Yeah,” he nodded stiffly, “she’s alright.”

With the departure of Esther the couple lapsed into an awkward silence. This was the first time they had been alone together since the confrontation at the restaurant. They shuffled in their seats for a few minutes and exchanged a few rather awkward smiles.

Eventually Elijah broke the silence. “Well, time to hit the sack – as you American’s say.”

Elena smiled at his attempt to get them out of the situation they had somehow found themselves in. “”You’re right,” she nodded solemnly, “it must be at least nine thirty.”

“Long day tomorrow,” he leaned back in his chair, “need my rest and all that.”

“Oh of course,” she nodded in agreement, and resisted the urge to call him an old man. A small smile played at the edges of her lips.

“Right,” he felt his mouth mirroring hers, “good night, then.”

Elijah stood up and strode towards the hotel. Elena was left at the table watching him walk away. Her eyes may or may not have fallen to watch his, rather nice, backside. She had just enough time to raise her eyes when he paused at the entrance and turned around to march back to their table.

“Forgive me,” he stopped in front of her, “where are my manners?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” Elena tilted her head back to look up at him.

“I don’t know what it is,” he shook his head with a small smile, “but you seem to bring out the worst in me.”

“I should have known it was my fault,” Elena laughed. _Isn’t it always my fault?_

“Please,” he smiled, “may I buy you a nightcap?”

Elena smiled politely before shaking her head. “No, thanks… I’m tired.”

“Right,” he stepped back and blushed. “Of course you are, I apologize.”

“Apology accepted.” She watched him stand there for a moment. For the first time since they had met Elena thought he looked unsure of himself.

“Good night then, Elena.”

She felt that shiver run down her spine again when he said her name.

“Good night Elijah.”

* * *

 

_Her head tilted back against the pillow as wet kisses were trailed down her bare stomach. She quivered when his tongue dipped into her naval. Her thighs prickled as large hands separated them._

_She inhaled sharply when his warm breath spread across her aching centre. She trembled in anticipation as she waited with bated breath. After what felt like forever his tongue finally slipped out to run from the bottom of her slit to flick across her clit._

_She moaned wantonly when he sucked her clit into his mouth; several glorious seconds were devoted to that little bundle of nerves before he moved down to dip his tongue into her folds._

_She made a strangled noise in the back of her throat when his thumb rose to apply pressure to her clit while his tongue moved in and out of her. Each deep thrust massaged her inner walls. Occasionally he would pause to lap at the juices flowing freely from her dripping centre, and suck on her clit before returning to fuck her with his tongue._

_The muscles in her thighs began to tremble as he had her climbing. She cried out sharply when his tongue thrust inside of her deeply; he pressed against that spot inside her that made her see stars._

_Shockwaves of pleasure coursed through her body. Her hands fisted tightly in the sheets as she came down from her high. One of her hands came up to tangle in his hair when he started nipping and licking his way up her body._

_“Elena,” he breathed against her ear before pulling back to peer into her lidded eyes._

_“Elijah,” she moaned._

* * *

 

She bolted up in her bed when the alarm blared. Her fingers clenched the bedsheets tightly as she gasped for breath. Elena clenched her legs tightly together in an attempt to sooth the ache between her thighs. She could remember the last time she had been this turned on, or frustrated.

Her alarm had been set a little early so she could have time to write and shower before they left.

She ran her fingers through her hair before standing up on shaky legs and heading to the bathroom; she vaguely remembered seeing a detachable shower head.

She would forgo writing this morning.


	9. Life is the Messy Bits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own anything; i just enjoy writing about my favorite couple in various situations

Elena reclined against the back seat. A tiny frown played around the edge of her mouth. She had thought the relief she had found in the shower would tide her over for a while; she hadn't needed satisfaction that badly in a long time. Her body had relaxed under the spray of the shower, and she had remained that way for most of the morning until he had brushed her hand when he reached for the jam at breakfast.

While she was not as frustrated as she had been that morning she was definitely building to something. The way his curious eyes would look at her in the rear view mirror as he drove was not helping matters. If Elena had not been so bent on getting her traitorous body under control she might have noticed the slight shake of Esther's shoulders when she looked at her son.

She wondered vaguely if her dream was anywhere near reality.

* * *

"Excuse me," Elena stepped up beside a middle aged man in a flat cap and black suit, "are you Ansel Bartolinni?"

The man looked up at her and smiled kindly. "I am," he looked from her to Elijah. "What can I do for you?"

"I wonder if you could tell us who you were seeing in March of 1993?" Elijah glanced at the chess board where Ansel played with an older gentleman.

"1993?" He narrowed his eyes in thought, "I can't recall."

"It was that blond one," the older man harrumphed.

Elena turned to look at Esther. She stood a little ways to the side; she shook her head when she saw Elena looking at her.

Ansel's eyes lit up when the memory came back, "Ah yes… Maria." He turned to look at Elena and Elijah, "why do you want to know?"

"We're trying to find somebody," Elena smiled. "Thank you for your help." Her spine tingled when Elijah's hand fell to guide her away.

Elijah pulled his hand as if he'd been burned, when he felt her shiver. He hadn't even realized he was touching her until she reacted to him. He wondered idly how she would react to a deliberate touch.

* * *

Less than an hour later she stood next to Elijah by a dock. They watched together as a speedboat rushed towards them. A helpful local had told them that Ansel Bartolinni was a water skiing instructor.

Elena followed Elijah towards the wooden dock when the boat came to a complete stop. She grabbed his arm when the instructor jumped out of the boat; she needed a minute to compose herself before they went the rest of the way.

Elijah glanced down at her hand on his elbow. He took note of the firm line of her mouth, and the mirth in her eyes before he followed her gaze.

The man was ridiculously bronzed; he had clearly spent an exorbitant amount of time in a tanning salon. A mess of gold chains hung around his neck and rested against an enormous pot belly.

When Elena allowed her eyes to travel lower she spotted the most obscene thong she had ever seen. It left nothing to the imagination; she briefly considered burning her own thongs when she saw that one.

Elena pressed her lips together to suppress her grin when he turned around and revealed his drooping backside. She heard Esther let out a little shriek.

She looked up at Elijah to see him beside himself in laughter. Elena playfully slapped Elijah's shoulder to stop his snickers. She glanced at Esther to see a horrified look on her face; it wasn't him.

* * *

Elena watched from a distance as Esther held the hands of a kind looking priest. The man stood outside his church with her as he slowly shook his head; Elena thought he looked almost sad to tell her no.

Elena smiled when she saw him offer Esther a blessing before she turned to rejoin her companions.

* * *

"Are you sure we've got the right address?" Elijah glanced back at her.

She double checked her book before returning her eyes to the scene before her. They were slowly driving up a tree-lined driveway to approach a regal looking palazzo. She leaned forward between the seats and nodded. "This is the place."

"This wouldn't be so bad, mother," Elijah teased. "You go from the man working the fields to the man owning them… and you get to skip the messy bits."

Esther turned to look from her son to Elena and back. Neither had noticed her keen eyes on them. "Life is the messy bits," she laughed softly.

Elena couldn't help but agree, no matter how much she wanted to skip over them sometimes. She could think of one particularly messy situation that she needed to deal with soon.

Roughly ten minutes later they stood outside the palazzo talking to a handsome, well-dressed man. Elena thought he must be a Count or something, but it was clear from the shake of his head, and the sad smile on Esther's face that this was not her Ansel.

"It was not me," he smiled sadly at her. "I would have never let you go." Ansel pressed a courtly kiss to the back of her hand.

A few minutes later Elena asked the question that had been on her mind since the first Ansel had offered up flirtations.

"What is it with you and Italian men?" She felt the corner of her mouth turn up in a half smile. "They just fall at your feet."

Esther shook her head as if to say she didn't know. They peered at Elijah when he heaved a dramatic sigh.

"Such a shame," he murmured in a laughing voice, "I think I could have been happy here."

Elena and Esther just shook their heads before climbing into the car.

* * *

Elena watched as Elijah's foot tapped impatiently against the tile floor of the waiting room. The light movement was the only thing to betray his nerves. Elena tried to stay happy and positive, but the sight around her made it difficult. Everywhere her eyes landed Elena was met with the sight of disease; her heart ached for them.

Three heads turned together when a nurse escorted the latest Ansel. This man appeared to be a little older than the rest. He had a kind smile, and wore a large pair of sunglasses.

The man walked directly to Esther. His hands lifted to run over her face, "…your face… it is so familiar…"

Elena exchanged a hopeful look with Elijah. Had they finally found him? She had thought they would have to go through a lot more before actually finding him.

"Ansel," Elijah stood beside the man. "This is Esther… do you remember Esther?"

"Esther!" The beaming smile on his face had Elijah grinning. "Of course…of course…" Ansel lifted his glasses to peer closely at Esther. When he did Elena and Elijah watched as Esther sadly shook her head.

_Shit!_  Elena thought that Elijah was thinking the same thing. Ansel had confused Esther for someone else. Elena suppressed her sigh when Esther played along so that she would not hurt the kind man's feelings.

"It's so good to see you, Ansel." She smiled sadly.

"You too, my angel," he waved to them as they left. "Thank you for visiting. Come again soon."

Elena could tell by his cheerful wave that they had made his day.

They silently returned to the car.

"That's it for today I think," Elijah opened Elena's door.

Elena tilted her head slightly to look into his eyes. "One more?"

Elijah might have agreed with her had he not seen the set of his mother's shoulders. He shook his head at the brunette; "she's exhausted."

Esther agreed that she could definitely use a break. Elena sighed and slid into the car; she realized how emotionally drained she was when she relaxed into the seat and she knew that Esther must be feeling ten times worse.

She didn't realize how tired she was until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open to find Elijah. He had opened the back door; his knee rested on the seat as he gently roused her. Her eyes flickered over his face before settling on his full lips. Her fingers itched to run over the stubble forming on his jaw to tangle in his hair and pull him into a kiss.

"Elena," her name rolled off his tongue. His did not fail to notice the way her lidded eyes lingered on his mouth. His thumb slowly rubbed circles on her bare shoulder; his intense gaze fell to her lips.

Their eyes lifted to meet each other in a heavy stare. The sound of someone shouting drunkenly in Italian broke their reverie.

Elijah cleared his throat and removed his hand from her shoulder. "We're back at the hotel." He got out of the car and offered her a hand to help her stand up.

"Thanks for waking me up," Elena released his hand when the shockwaves raced up her arm. She couldn't meet his eyes as they walked quietly inside.

* * *

Elena sat at the desk in her room. Her notebook was open beside her laptop, the remains of her late dinner sat on the other side of the computer. She leaned back in her seat and stared at the ceiling as she spoke into the cell phone.

"I hope we're doing the right thing. She's so full of hope one minute, and completely deflated the next. The ups and downs are killing me,"  _along with the tension,_  "I can't imagine what it's like for her…"

* * *

Stefan perused the papers in front of him while Elena chattered away in his ear. He was attempting to understand every detail of the restaurant.

"I'm glad you're having a good time," Stefan murmured.

_"Did you listen to a single word I just said?"_

"I miss you, beautiful."

Elena paused a minute before responding.  _"I miss you too."_

Stefan looked up when the waitress brought him a plate of food. He inhaled deeply when the dish was set before him.

"You would not believe the plate of food I've just had put in front of me…" he laid a napkin on his lap. "Can I call you back? I feel like I should have all my senses for this."

Her response came in short clipped syllables.  _"Yeah. Sure. Enjoy."_

* * *

Elena hung up and stared at the phone and sighed.  _Did my boyfriend_  _just get off the phone to pay attention to his meal?_

She put the phone aside and ran her fingers through her hair. She realized that until she had called Stefan, and gotten through, that she really hadn't missed him. She'd actually been more relaxed not thinking about him. She knew what she had to do, but she also knew she couldn't do it over the phone.

She sighed before lifting her eyes to the computer screen. She stared at the blinking cursor at the bottom of a full page of writing. She smiled when she took note of how much she had accomplished that day.

A knock on the door drew her attention. She quickly stood up and opened the door.

"Elijah," she blinked in surprise.

"Elena," his eyes shifted in the artificial light. "She's gone to bed – shattered, poor thing."

"Do you think she'll be alright?"

"Oh, yeah," he smiled. "She'll be fine. Tough as old boots, my mother. Do not be fooled by the frail old lady act… the woman is Churchill in a dress."

Elena laughed. Her eyes caught his amused smile.

"Do you fancy a spot of dinner?" He cleared his throat. His eyes darted over her delicate features.

"I actually already ate," Elena smiled sheepishly, "I wanted to get started."  _Did he really just ask me to dinner?_

Elijah's eyes glanced over her shoulder to the open laptop and notebook. "How's it coming?"

"Slowly," she admitted with a smirk.

"Am I in it?" He leaned forward slightly. His eyes danced with amusement.

"You are," she tilted her head back and met his gaze. She thought if she took a half step forward their legs might just touch.

"Well in that case," his head tilted when hers did, "can I read some of it?"

"No," she shook her head with a broad smile.

"Please?" Elijah took that half step, and sure enough his pant leg brushed against her knee.

"Maybe when it's done," she conceded. Her tongue darted out to wet her lip.

"How am I to be sure I'm being portrayed properly?"

Elena gave him an overly innocent smile. "You are just going to have to trust me."

"Just a peek," Elijah shivered when he heard her angelic voice, "a sentence of two."

She held her hand over her heart and pouted. "You don't trust me?"

"You're an American," he said matter-of-factly, as if that surmised his feelings on the matter.

Elena felt the pout disappear as she dissolved in giggles.

"Are you sure you won't let me see a bit, just to put my mind at ease?"

Elena pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek and shook her head with a small smile before she shut the door in his face. Her hands rested against the wood as his smooth voice made its way through the barrier.

"Is this one of those situations where you're really saying the opposite of what you mean?" Elijah pressed his hands to the opposite side of the door.

Elena pressed her lips together to suppress her smile. "It's not."

"Well," he called, "good night then."

"Good night, Elijah."

Neither one of them moved for several moments. Elena could have sworn she felt the heat from his hands burning through the wood and seeping into her palms. They each waited for the other to make the first move; whether to move away or tear open the door she wasn't sure.

After a long moment Elena sensed him step away from her room. She slowly turned around and sank back against the door. She nibbled her lower lip as she smiled and slid down the door.

 


	10. I Have a Good Feeling About This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I do not own TVD, TO or Letters to Juliet

Elena glanced up from her notebook when she heard footsteps on the stairs. Her eyes caught sight of Elijah. She returned to her writing only to look up when he sat in an armchair across from her.

"Mother's not feeling well," he placed his elbows on his knees and leaned towards her.

"What is it?" Elena immediately shut her notebook and leaned a little closer. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," he shook his head.

"Should we call a doctor?" Elena was already looking for the concierage.

"No," he sat back slightly, "best just to let her rest awhile."

"I shouldn't have pushed her," Elena worried her bottom lip and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's not your fault," he chuckled. "She made up her mind the moment that letter arrived; I doubt even the royal guard could have stopped her from coming here."

"But if I hadn't come back…"

"If you hadn't come back," Elijah cut her off with a disarming smile, "I would have been denied the pleasure of spending a day in your glorious company while I showed you the sights of Siena."

A smile spread across her face. "You know," she leaned forward and looked at him through her long eyelashes, "you can be quite charming when you want to be."

"Don't let it fool you," his smile turned to a smirk. "I'm a complete rogue, really."

* * *

Elena sat beside Elijah in the front seat as he drove through the Tuscan countryside. She smiled softly at the rolling hills before turning to watch him.

"So…" her smile was teasing, "… what's your story Elijah?"

"Not worth telling really," he shrugged. He smirked at her from the corner of his eye. "Certainly not worth writing about."

Elena shifted so her knees were angled towards him. "Can't I just be curious?"

"You can be whatever you want," he turned onto a different road that went downhill.

"Okay," she relented before changing tactics, "how does a guy your age come to live with his mother."

"She actually lives with me," his smile was slight.

"That makes all the difference," she rolled her eyes playfully.

"It does actually," he nodded slowly. It would have been rather embarrassing for a grown man to live with his mother.

"So, how does the rest of your family fit in? I heard mention of a brother…"

"Niklaus lives in central London," he glanced at her, "Kol and Rebekah are at Uni, and Finn moved to Ireland with his wife Sage years ago."

"Is that everyone?" She laughed when she realized how big his family was.

"My youngest brother and father were killed in a car crash ten years ago."

Elena's laughter died in her throat. She could do nothing but stare at him with an open mouth; no sound escaped her throat.

"They were hit head on by a tourist driving on the wrong side of the road; an American tourist." He reached over and gently closed her jaw with his fingertips. He waited a moment beat before continuing. "I've had ambiguous feelings towards anything American ever since."

"Understandable," Elena whispered.

Elijah smirked and tried to ease the tension that had settled over the car. "It could also have something to do with my cynicism, and pessimism and general lack of faith in true love lasting forever. Not a great believer in happy endings I'm afraid."

"Oh… Elijah…" she spoke quietly.

"Mother stepped in and took me under her wing. She turned me from the angry, bereft and shockingly unpleasant young man under her wing and turned him into the superb specimen of screwed-up manhood you see before you." He laughed nervously.

Elena's eyes glittered as she laid her hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry."

Elijah glanced down at her hand and gently raised his eyebrows to mock her. Elena quickly withdrew her hand. "I owe everything to that woman. She looked after me when no one else would."

"And now it's your turn," she nodded in understanding.

"Right… she…" his voice crackled with emotion. He cleared his throat and smiled at her. "I'm sorry. It was a momentary slip; it won't happen again."

Elena smiled at the stiff upper lip he showed her.  _He's so English._  She turned to the window to spare him any more embarrassment.

* * *

They stopped in a small town a half hour later. Elijah parked the car and led Elena through the medieval gates.

When she craned her neck back Elena counted thirteen medieval towers standing proudly against the brilliant blue sky. She allowed Elijah to guide her through the narrow streets as he explained the history of the town.

Later, Elijah put the hood of the convertible down to drive through the countryside. Elena saw the flaw in the plan a moment after he sped up on the old highway. Her hair whipped around her face wildly; she laughed when she couldn't see anything. Elena attempted to tie her long brown hair in a knot on top of her head while Elijah smiled.

Elijah stopped the car outside a cathedral. They walked the perimeter of the building before he made her stop so he could take her picture. A moment later she had coaxed him into posing for one with her. He held the camera in front of them and took a picture of them both. Elena couldn't help but think they looked good together.

* * *

Later they walked through an old square to the three hundred foot Mangia Bell Tower. He somehow talked her into walking the four hundred steps to the top.

"Come on, Elena!"

Elena gasped for breath. She looked up to see Elijah shouting down to her from the top of the tower with a smug smile and a raised brow.

"I'm coming," she laughed breathlessly and staggered up the remaining stairs. She collapsed against the column and grinned up at him. "I made it."

"So you did," Elijah laughed and snapped a picture of her.

"You may have to carry me down," she teased when he lifted the camera to take a picture of them. Her comment had him turning to face her when he pressed the shutter. This resulted in a still life of them looking into each-other's eyes while laughing. Elena decided it might just be her favorite picture from the day.

She bit her lip and turned to take in the breathtaking view of the ancient city of Siena. The limited space meant that Elijah stood very close to her as he pointed out different landmarks in the city.

In the end she was able to make it back down on her own; after all, going down was a lot easier than going up.

* * *

Elijah and Elena spent the day exploring the city. When she passed the Fountain of Joy she smiled brightly; she couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun. Elijah knew a lot about the city, but he still acted the tourist with her. For the first time in a long time she was enjoying herself.

* * *

Elena sat outside a bustling café. She looked to the door when Elijah appeared with two of the largest ice cream cones that she had ever seen.

She smirked when he handed her one of the cones and sat across from her at the round table. "Are we feeling a little indulgent today?"

"That's the thing," he grinned, "they're calorie free. Clever people the Italians."

"No way," Elena narrowed her eyes at the cone in her hand as Elijah started to eat his. His tongue darted out to catch the dripping treat before it could reach his hand.

"Yes way," he smirked, "thousands of calories free with every mouthful."

Elena laughed, "That was really bad."

"I thought it was rather funny," he raised his eyebrows and gave her the most accusing look he could muster, "you've no sense of humour."

Elena smirked evilly before reaching up to shove his ice cream cone in his face. Elijah slowly removed the cone to reveal his ice cream covered face; she was briefly reminded of her dream and something else coating his mouth. The stony look on his face and the slightly hurt look in his eyes made her laugh.

"That was funny."

Elijah used a napkin to clean away the sticky mess.

"It's a good thing I'm a gentleman," he cleared his throat and looked up into her laughing eyes, "otherwise I might be tempted into some sort of juvenile revenge."

"I'm eternally grateful for that," Elena's leaned across the table and smiled. She made sure to hold her ice cream away from him just in case.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence while they ate. Elena looked at him when they were halfway done.

"I had a great time today," she hummed, "it was nice doing the tourist thing with somebody, so thank you." She spent a moment studying his smile. "What's the real reason you're so against your mother being here?"

His smile turned into a smirk. "Every good story needs an antagonist, right?"

"There's something else going on in that head of yours," she shook her own head from side to side and rested her elbows on the table. "Are you jealous?"

"Of an old man I've never met? No."

"What is it then?" She tilted her head and watched the emotions dance in his eyes. "Are you afraid you'll lose her?"

"Something like that," he shrugged. They went back to eating in silence.

"Okay…" he sighed, "… truthfully? I feel like if we find him, and mother decides that leaving him all those years ago was the biggest mistake of her life… what does that say about me and my family? Doesn't it make my life a bit of a sham? If they were really meant to be it's like we're second best."

"You know that's not true," she insisted.

"Maybe," he agreed, "but it feels true."

Elena watched him carefully as she tried to work through what he had said. She understood where he was coming from. She startled when he leant across the table and peered into her eyes with the most serious look on his face.

"You've got something on your…."

He reached out to push the remains of her ice cream cone into her nose. Elena shrieked at the cold sensation. Elijah didn't settle for simply shoving the ice cream into her face, he also made sure he rubbed some across her cheeks and chin.

Elijah snickered before lifting a napkin to gently wipe the ice cream from her face. Elena shivered when he moved the cloth over her lips. His hand lingered on her cheek when he finished cleaning her off.

They both jumped when their cell phones started to ring. Simultaneously they pulled them out and checked the screen.

"Hayley."

"Stefan."

They both tucked their phones away without answering. Elijah looked at her curiously.

"You didn't answer," he smirked, "very naughty."  _Is there trouble in paradise?_

"Neither did you," she mirrored his smirk before resting her elbow on the table. The surface was so small that the action had her arms brushing his hands.

"Ah," he lifted one finger and pointed it at her, "but I have a good excuse. She's a tiresome, self-centered neurotic. She's mad. Madder than a mad cow," he chuckled. "Your Stefan on the other hand is a dashingly handsome chef about to become a New York culinary sensation… it sounds like anything any girl could ever want."

Elena felt her lips twist into a small smile as she shrugged. "I suppose he is…" the smile dropped from her face. Her eyes fell to the table top as she murmured softly, "what if I'm not just any girl?"

Elijah felt emotion flare in his chest. He offered her his most diplomatic smile; he knew better than to answer that question. Even though he had a good idea of what he wanted to say.

* * *

Dusk had settled over the hotel when Elijah parked the car. He came around to open her door and they walked in silence towards the entrance.

"Elena…"

She stopped ten feet from the door and turned to face him. She was surprised to see him shuffle from foot to foot.

"I just wanted to say… about today… uh… what I mean is…" he rubbed the back of his neck when she pressed her lips together to supress her smile.

"Me too," she smiled and turned around to walk inside.

Elijah watched the sway of her hips for a moment before he followed her inside. They walked past the bar and stopped on the other side. They gave each other a sideways glance before stepping back into the room to gaze in astonishment at the bar.

Esther sat sipping a rather large cocktail. She looked perfectly fine as she sat and laughed with the bartender.

"Feeling better?" Elijah cocked an eyebrow.

"Right as rain, dear," Esther smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Good…" Elijah trailed off.

Esther smiled sweetly at both of them. "How was your day? Did you two get along alright without me?"

Elena and Elijah shared a knowing look when they realized what Esther had done. Matching smiles bloomed on their faces.


	11. My Greatest Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own TVD, TO or Letters to Juliet

Elena felt a growing sense of dread spread through her chest as the old grave digger led them through the cemetery. The tombstones were getting progressively newer the farther along they went. She shook her head slowly when the man stopped and pointed to a new grave; the dirt was still in a rounded mound.

"No," she whispered, "please, no…"

Esther slowly approached the grave as Elena and Elijah held back.

"This is what I feared the most…" Elijah trailed off as he watched his mother kneel beside the grave.

They watched in silence as Esther stood up and slowly approached them again.

"Is it…"

"It's not him," she shook her head and explained that her Ansel had a different middle name.

Relief washed over Elena; her shoulders fell when she released the breath she hadn't known she was holding. "So? We keep looking then?"

"No," Elijah's mouth was set in a firm line.

Elena turned to him quickly and saw the concern set of his jaw. He stared silently at the grave to keep from causing a scene in the cemetery.

"Elijah, it's not over," Elena tried to catch his eyes.

"It is, Elena," he shook his head quickly, "It's over… we're done."

"But – "

"Don't you see what we're doing?" He snapped. His blazing eyes made her catch her breath. "What we are putting her through? What if it had been him? What if there is another grave around here with her Ansel in it?" He turned to his mother with a small frown. "I'm sorry mom, I am. But this is the end of the line for me… I can't do this."

Esther looked at the concern in her son's face. She sighed in agreement and took his hand.

"You're giving up? Just like that?" Elena stared in disbelief. She had come so far only to give up now.  _There are always hurdles, she can't give up now._

"He's right dear," Esther frowned, "It's too much."  _I don't know how I would handle it if it were him._

Elena's face set in a stony expression when she stared at Elijah.

"What?" He met her angry glare.

"This is what you wanted all along," she huffed.

"No," his jaw clenched, "what I wanted was for you to have never written that letter." He pointed at her accusingly. "What I wanted was to never come on this ridiculous goose chase."

"Why are you so desperate for this to fail?" Elena demanded.

"I am trying to protect her," he gestured to his mother, "because unlike you I can't just stand idly by and watch her get hurt."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Elena cried. She took a small step towards him.

Elijah's eyes flashed angrily. "It means you're not here for her. And you are not here because you're some hopeless romantic who wants to believe in love lasting forever. You're here for the story," he all but spat, "here to see how it all ends. It doesn't matter to you if it's a happy or sad ending as long as it's a compelling read, right? As long as there's drama."

"Elijah," Esther whispered, "please…"

Elena took a step back and breathed. Hurt flashed in her dark eyes. "You think that's true?" She asked quietly.

"I'm just looking out for her," Elijah shrugged. That shrug may as well have said yes.

Elena shook her head. "You're not," she fumed, "you're not walking away for her, you're walking away for you."

They stared at each other with burning eyes both acutely aware that they had just crossed a line.

"She's dealt with enough grief in her life," his voice was serious as he sneered. "She's lost her husband, her daughter and her son. And then you come along and set her up to lost someone else that she had already lost. Why should I expect you to understand? You don't know a thing about real loss."

Elena inhaled sharply before turning on her heel and storming off towards the car. Esther watched sadly as she slid into the back seat; from where she stood she could see Elena trying to mask her emotions before they joined her.

"You're wrong, Elijah," Esther sighed. "She lost her mother and father when she was a little girl. That was very wrong of you."

"It's different," he turned to stare at his mother.

"You're right it is," she nodded. "Her parents chose to abandon her; your father did not."

She walked back to the car and left her son to think over her words.

The drive back to the hotel was silent. Elijah glanced back in the rear view mirror a couple times only to find Elena staring out the window with a hard look in her eyes. She had scooted as far away from him as the car would allow.

* * *

Elena sat at her dressing table. She drew in a shuddering breath when she saw that her eyes were puffy and red. She had tried not to do it, but once the water in the shower had hit her head the tears had flowed freely.

She picked up the brush and angrily pulled it through her tangled curls. She dropped her hand when she heard a knock on her door. She slowly stood up and approached the door. Twisting the knob she came face to face with Esther.

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right." Esther looked in concern at her swollen eyes.

"Of course I am," Elena forced a cheery smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm totally fine. We gave it our best shot right?"

"We did," she nodded. Her eyes fell to the brush in Elena's hand: "may I?"

Elena followed her gaze to the brush. Her mouth popped open when she realized what Esther was asking.

"Sure…"

Elena slowly stepped back inside and took a seat at her dressing table. She handed over the brush to the older woman. She sighed and allowed her eyes to drift shut when the brush began to glide through her wet hair.

"One of the great joys in life is having someone brush your hair," Esther murmured.

"I guess it is…" A small smile bloomed on Elena's face.

"My mother used to do this for me."

Elena sighed. Esther continued to brush her hair in silence. A few minutes later fresh tears started to make their way down Elena's cheeks. She couldn't remember the last time someone had done this for her.


	12. I'm Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I do not own TVD, TO, or Letters to Juliet.

Later that evening Elena sat at the table with Elijah and Esther. Her hollow eyes were focused on the menu in front of her so she wouldn't have to look at him.

Elijah cast furtive glances at Elena. Every few seconds his eyes would dart from the menu to her face; her jaw was tightly clenched, but her eyes were weary and her shoulders drooped.

Elijah turned his attention to his mother.

Esther raised her brows in that interrogative manner that she had used when he was a child. Her eyes turned to Elena before watching him in an expectant manner. He could almost hear her say  _'the ball is in your court'._

Elijah cleared his throat and dropped his eyes to his own menu. "I should apologize. I was wrong." He glanced at Elena from the corner of his eye.

"You should or you are?" She didn't look up from her menu.

"Didn't I just?" Elijah sat his own menu down and twisted to face her.

"I'm not so sure that you did," Elena finally met his eyes.

Esther gently cleared her throat when their staring contest had gone on a while. "An apology, Elijah, is when you look at someone straight in the eye with contrition and sincerity and actually say the words 'I'm sorry'."

Elena fought the smirk that threatened to take over her face as Elijah was berated by his mother.

Elijah turned to stare at his mother. A flush rose in his cheeks at his mother's admonishment. He did his best to follow her directions though.

He met Elena's angry eyes. "Elena, I'm sorry…" he glanced back at his mother. "Is that enough contrition and sincerity for you?"

"I'll give you a six out of ten," Esther crossed her arms on the table. She knew he could so much better than that, and he would; there was something special about Elena and Esther would be damned if she let her son mess that up.

"What exactly do you want me to do," Elijah grumbled, "get down on my knees and beg?" He moved to do that.

Elena smiled. "Please don't," she reached out to stop him, "I'm sorry too."

Elijah got comfortable in his seat again and reached for the wine list.

"Excellent," Esther smiled as the tension between the two lifted, "now that the hostilities are over let's get drunk."

Elena laughed as a waiter stopped beside Elijah.

"A bottle of your best local Chianti please," he passed the wine list to the man who left to fetch the wine.

"So, Elena," Esther turned to the young woman, "what will you do now?"

"Back to Verona I guess," she shrugged, "see Sarah and the girls and then fly home."

"With the dashingly handsome Stefan," Elijah's eyes widened when he realized he had spoken out loud.

Elena's mouth popped open; the thought of returning to the home she shared with Stefan didn't seem so appealing. In fact she was dreading the prospect. Even so she forced a smile on her face before echoing his words in a hollow manner: "With the dashingly handsome Stefan."

"Well," Esther shot Elijah a playful smirk, "despite what my emotionally stunted son may think, you did a wonderful thing for me…. I will never forget that."

"Even though it didn't lead anywhere?" Elena bit her lip.

"It's been an adventure," Esther chuckled, "there are not many adventures left at my age, dear." She smiled at Elena. "And it didn't lead nowhere… we got to meet you."

"A friend isn't much consolation for an old love," Elena smiled sheepishly.

"Depends on the friend," Esther hummed. She glanced between her son and her new friend. "Unfortunately you had to meet Elijah, but then we can't have everything can we?" She smirked.

Elena laughed, "It wouldn't have been the same without him."

"Thank you?"

"My pleasure," she chewed her lip to temper her smirk.

Elijah tilted his head to look at her. "You have a knack for saying things that could be taken as compliments or sarcastic digs."

Her eyes glittered with glee, "it's taken years of practice."

Esther lifted her glass when the waiter finished pouring the wine. He left the bottle on the table and walked away. "To Ansel… wherever he may be."

The dark liquid sloshed in the glasses as they echoed the toast.

"Damn," Elijah regarded the glass, "that's good."

"Isn't it?" Esther lifted the bottle. A broad grin spread over her face. "It should be…" She spun the bottle around to face the young couple. "Look at the label."

Elijah lifted the bottle and peered closely at the label. "Bartolinni, where do I know that name?"

Elena and Esther smiled at each other and slowly shook their heads.

"Sometimes I find it hard to believe that we are related," Esther giggled.

"You don't think…" Elena trailed off when she saw the realization dawn on Elijah's face.

He beckoned over the Sommelier. "Are you familiar with the makers of this wine?"

"Yes, sir, I am," the man nodded proudly.

"And is there an Ansel Paolo Bartolinni?" Esther held her breath as she awaited the answer.

"Signora, there are three."

* * *

Elena's fingers flew across the keyboard. She had been typing for the better part of an hour. While she had worked the moon had raised high in the sky. She closed her laptop after saving her work and glanced out the window. She caught sight of Elijah strolling across the lawn. She watched as he looked up to the sky and then moved to lie down on the lawn. She smiled when she saw him spread out and stare up at the sky.

Five minutes later Elena found herself wandering across the dark yard. She stopped in front of Elijah's head and bent to meet his eyes. "You OK?"

He smiled and nodded, "Just looking at the stars. You can see the milky way."

Elena took a few steps and stretched out beside him. She followed his finger: "it's beautiful."

"It's awesome," he attempted to mimic her accent.

Elena laughed and playfully hit his shoulder. Elijah smiled and turned to look at her as she gazed up at the stars.

"You have a wonderful laugh," he gave her a soft smile when she turned her head to look at him.

"You have a wonderful frown," she teased.

They both turned their attention to the sky.

"So," Elijah ventured after a moment, "what do you think will happen tomorrow?"

"If it's him?"

"Oh it's him alright," Elijah chuckled.

"How do you know?"

"Because we've come too far, it would just be unfair if it wasn't."

"Elijah?" She looked at him through the corner of her eyes. "Am I hearing right? Is that optimism I detect?"

"I am capable of it on occasion," he turned his head to smirk at her.

"Well," Elena sighed, "whatever happens something tells me that they will be great friends."

"I hope so," he turned his attention to the sky again, "she deserves it."

Elena softly agreed with him.

"And what about you?" Elijah watched her watch the stars. "What's in the stars for you and Stefan?"

Elena blinked slowly and chewed over the question. It was something she had been thinking about a lot lately, and she could honestly say: "I don't know. I wish I did."

Elijah gave her wry smile and started listing the things he thought she must be considering: "Successful business, marriage, lots of dashing children?"

Elena frowned at the stars, "successful business, marriage, lots of kids. Stefan becomes a celebrity chef, travels all over the world cooking for royalty while I stay home and microwave leftovers for the kids." Her voice had slowly grown more and more bitter.

"And you say I'm cynical," Elijah held a hand over his heart.

"When it comes to cynicism and love we're not even in the same league," Elena smirked.

"Sounds like we'd make quite the pair," he sighed.

"Shame I'm spoken for."

_Indeed it is,_ Elijah thought. Did he imagine the disappointment in her voice?

"You don't strike me as the kind of girl who would let anybody speak for her," Elijah propped himself up on his elbow and regarded her through narrow eyes. "So what about all that romantic true love codswallop you peddled about Mum and Ansel then?"

"I guess I want them to prove me wrong," she shrugged and met his confused gaze. "I do want to believe that two people can reconnect and it can all be OK. I'm clinging to the wreckage of 'there's always hope'."

"Because of your parents?"

Elena looked at him and shrugged. She turned her gaze back to the stars. "You know all the things your parents are supposed to give you," Elena ventured after a moment of silence, "safety, food, a roof over your head… the one thing that everybody takes for granted is the most important…unconditional love."

She turned her head and gave him a brave smile. A single tear slipped down her cheek and her lower lip trembled. She managed another smile when he reached out and wiped the tear away with his thumb.

"Sorry," she sighed, "momentary slip… won't happen again."

Elijah smiled at her attempt at humor. Her glistening eyes met his warm brown ones as they searched hers.

Elena caught her breath when his hand gently caressed her cheek. Her eyes flickered to his mouth just before he shifted closer. Her eyes drifted shut when his lips brushed gently over hers.

Elijah pulled back momentarily before pressing his lips against hers again. Elena didn't hesitate before kissing him back. Their mouths moved against each other hungrily. She could feel the passion in his movements, and she knew she was echoing the emotions as she kissed him with everything she had. For a few seconds they were only aware of each other; then her head caught up with her head.

She was seeing someone. This wasn't fair to any of them.

Elena pressed her hand to his chest and gently pushed him back. When she spoke her voice was shaky. "Time out," she gasped for breath, "not good… too good, but so really not good."

She jumped to her feet and strode quickly towards the hotel with her hand gently covering her still tingling lips.

"Elena," he stood up and called after her, "wait… I… Elena."

She took off running when she heard him coming behind her. He paused when she ran before following her into the hotel.

Neither one of them saw Esther smiling gently from her bedroom window.

 


	13. Don't Make My Mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I do not own TVD, TO, or Letters to Juliet
> 
> Also Elena was legally adopted by her stepdad that's why her name is different

Esther's anxious eyes darted around the reception as she drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. She glanced up to see Elijah descending the stairs.

"She's not in her room," he shook his head. He had spent years perfecting the mask he showed the world, but one look at his mother told him she could see his concern.

"Have you checked the dining room?" She stood up and worried her bottom lip.

He nodded once and rocked back on his heels. "This is all my fault," he gulped before making his way to the reception desk.

"Has Miss Saltzman checked out?"

The man turned his attention to the old fashioned records book. Elijah's foot tapped impatiently as the receptionist scanned the list of names.

"No," he finally managed to locate her.

"Have you seen her at all this morning?" Elijah demanded.

"I'm afraid not sir," the receptionist shook his head and frowned.

Elijah never heard the response because at that moment he spotted Elena coming in through the garden entrance.

"Elena," he let out a relieved sigh.  _She didn't leave._

Her smile was unnaturally bright as she greeting him: "morning!" She pressed her lips together when they started to tingle again.

Elijah took a step forward and searched her features. "Is everything alright?" His hand came up to rub the back of his neck, "I thought…"

"Thought what?" She tilted her head and crossed her arms. Her eyes focused on a spot just beyond his ear.

"Nothing…" he bowed his head and cleared his throat, "Are you okay?"

"Of course," she chirped. Her shoulders raised in a shrug. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Elena turned to Esther who was smiling at the pair of them. "Are you excited?" She smiled with false enthusiasm. "I am so excited."

* * *

The early morning sun crested over the horizon as they passed a sign for Bartolinni Vineyards. Elijah followed the country road around the vast fields before finding the entrance.

A few minutes later he stopped the car in front of a large farmhouse that had appeared suddenly in the midst of the Vineyard. Elena stepped out of the car to see vines bursting with young grapes.

Esther climbed from the car and peered around. She shielded her eyes from the sun and peered a little ways into the distance. She caught her breath when she realized what she had seen.

A handsome young man in his early twenties was bent over repairing an irrigation system. His shirtless back was bronzed from the sun. He looked up when he felt them watching and offered a shy wave to the strangers who had pulled into his driveway.

"That's him," Esther breathed. Her hand came up to cover her mouth "that's Ansel."

Elijah narrowed his eyes at the man, "That can't actually be him."

"If it is then I am writing a very different story," Elena felt her eyes grow wide.

"Are you Ansel Bartolinni?" Esther called as they stepped closer.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded politely.

"Did someone call me?" A middle aged man came around the corner. "I know that voice…"

Elena watched as Esther seemed to hold her breath. The elder Ansel had greying brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. His skin was sun darkened from working in the fields. His eyes scanned the three strangers before settling on the smiling Esther. Memories flickered in his eyes as she slowly approached him.

"Esther?"

She nodded as a few tears escaped her eyes. This was him; this was her Ansel. It was all in the eyes. Ansel seemed to gravitate towards her before stopping and staring into each other's eyes.

After a lengthy silence Esther managed a coy smile. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Ansel smiled and opened his arms. Esther didn't hesitate before walking into them. They were completely unaware of the three young people watching them.

Elena glanced down when she felt Elijah reach for her hand. She threaded their fingers together and looked up at him as he turned to her with suspiciously tearful eyes; he opened his mouth to say something, but came up at a loss for words.

"You're welcome," she squeezed his hand.

* * *

Elena glanced back at the large table where Esther and Ansel sat drinking and catching up. They had been joined by Ansel's son, as well as his nieces and nephews who had come out to celebrate. The tables were laden with food and drink.

Elena looked back down to find herself surrounded by energetic children. Two of them had been introduced as Ansel's grandchildren, and the others were great nieces and nephews. She prompted them to continue their game together before glancing again at the table; someone was missing.

Striding off between the vines Elena eventually found Elijah standing alone by a copse of trees staring as the sun set over the horizon. For a moment she just stood and watched him lost in his own thoughts before smiling.

"He's a widower," she called softly as she came up beside him, "just lost his wife four years ago. And now Esther… here on his doorstep after twenty-five years… how does that happen?"

"You made it happen," he smiled gently before turning back to the horizon.

"Happy or sad?" Elena looked up at him, "I can't tell."

"A bit of both, actually," he frowned. "I'm happy for them, but I'm sad it's over."

"Mission accomplished," Elena grinned.

"If you like."

"You have to admit it was kind of fun," she turned her attention to the rich hues of the sky.

"It was," he turned his head to look at her bathed in the warm evening light. "About last night…"

"Don't worry about it," Elena lifted her hand and waved him off.

"Really?" He figured she would be more upset.

"Mistakes happen," she shrugged and watched a tinted cloud.

"A mistake," Elijah sighed, "yeah."

She spun her head around and stared up into his eyes. There was so much she wanted to say in that moment, but the words died in her throat. Instead she slowly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she fished for information.

"There's no need to apologize if that's what you were trying to do?"

Elijah paused as he considered the crossroads at which he found himself. The words he wanted to say disappeared as he looked into her dark eyes. "Right," he nodded slowly, "That's what I was trying to do. I was trying to apologize."

"But there's no need," she frowned.

"Course not," he cleared his throat and slid his hands in his pockets.

"Great," she plastered on a smile.

"Sorted," he mirrored her expression.

They lapsed into an awkward silence. Elena had never been good with awkward silence; she felt the weight of her emotions pushing her to confess. Instead she tried to ease the mood with an overly flippant comment.

"Bottle of Chianti, an Italian night sky, and some childhood trauma… I could have been anyone's," she mentally cursed when she saw the hurt in his eyes.

"I guess you'll do anything to get your story," his words came out colder than he meant them to.

"What does that mean?" She stammered.

Elijah shrugged as if to say it was obvious. He knew immediately that he should apologize but the words died on his tongue as he stared into her wide eyes; what had she meant?

"I shouldn't have come here," Esther came through the rows of grapes and interrupted their staring.

"What?" Elijah broke eye-contact to look at his mother.

"What's happened?" The hurt in Elena's eyes was quickly masked with her concern for Esther.

"Too much has happened," she smiled sadly at the younger woman. "It's been twenty-five years and I'm behaving like a school girl. You were right, Elijah, I never should have come. This was selfish and impulsive and I'm sorry."

"Esther…" Ansel suddenly appeared at her side.

"I should go," she smiled softly. "It was really good to see you again."

Elena pressed her tongue to the back of her teeth and looked at Elijah. Her pleading eyes prompted him into action.

"You can't just show up here out of the blue and then bugger off," he interrupted his mother. "It's not fair to either of you."

"It was foolish," Esther turned to Ansel, "barging back into your life like this. How could we possibly pick up where we left off a lifetime ago?"

Ansel's smile was warm. He understood her feelings; he had thought the same thing many times that day.

"Esther, slow down. It won't happen in a day. Nothing worth doing is done in a day." He smiled when she sighed, "we'll talk… be friends… have dinner…. Take it slow. You can tell me about your Mikael and I'll tell you all about my hernia operations."

Esther laughed. "I have varicose veins."

"So do I," he grinned, "and my  _hearing_."

"My eyes are going."

"We're a little old," he smiled. His blue eyes twinkled with laughter, "like Da Vinci's Last Supper, falling apart a little bit, but what a masterpiece."

He took her hand and looked into her glittering eyes. "What are you afraid of?"

"Maybe I'm afraid to be happy again," she shrugged.

"There are worse things to be afraid of at our age." He smiled sweetly. She returned his warm expression before stepping into the reassuring hug.

Ansel stepped back and held out his hand to Elijah. "Come along," he gestured towards the grapes, "I'll show you some vines older than me." He took Esther's arm and led her into the vineyard.

Elijah turned back to Elena. "Are you coming?"

Elena felt hurt flare in her chest when she looked at him again. "You go," she shook her head, "I should get back."

"Are you sure?"

"Need to get to work on that story," she pressed her lips into a tight smile, "that's the reason I'm here, right?"

"Right," he nodded after a short silence. They stared at each other for a long moment each of them wanting to say something more, but neither did. Instead they turned around and walked away.

* * *

Elena stretched out on her stomach on the bed. Her laptop was open in front of her as she typed. She glanced up when her cell phone rang and answered it.

"Hey, how's Palermo? Still need me to pick you up tomorrow morning?"

_"It was great. I'm back. Caught an early flight. Can you come get me?"_

"Sure," Elena sat up taken aback by the turn of events. "I'm on my way."

She grabbed her purse before heading down the Fiat they had rented when they arrived. She got in and drove off. Just as she moved out of sight of the hotel a convertible pulled up; Elijah and Esther stepped out and walked inside.

He approached the front desk and asked after Elena.

"She just left a few minutes ago."

"She did?"

"For the airport," the receptionist nodded.

"The airport?" Elijah tilted his head not sure that he had heard correctly, "did she leave a message?"

The receptionist looked before shaking his head. "No sir; no message."

He stepped back and turned to his mother. "I can't believe she would run off," even as he said it he knew it was a lie. After what he had said to Elena he was surprised she hadn't run off sooner.

"She's frightened," Esther smiled sadly. She could remember feeling that way many years ago; she had felt that way when they started out on this trip. "Go after her, Elijah."

"No," he shook his head and crossed his arms, "she's not…"  _mine._

"Don't be so proud," Esther scolded him.

"I'm not, really," he smiled, "it's for the best."

Esther just looked at him sadly and shook her head. "Don't make the same mistakes I did."

Elijah lifted his head to meet her warm eyes when she gently stroked his face. He paused as he let her words sink in before tearing away and sprinting from the hotel.

Esther turned back to the receptionist when he was gone. "We'd like to check out please. We're going to be staying with friends for the remainder of our trip."

* * *

Elijah ran into the Terminal and stared at the departures monitor. There was only one flight scheduled to leave for New York. He felt his shoulders slump when he saw that it had already departed.

He slowly turned around and walked back out of the airport into the car park. He never saw Elena further down the line loading luggage into the rental car with Stefan; and she never saw him.

* * *

Elena stepped into the lobby with Stefan and glanced around; there was no sign of them.

"Why don't you go upstairs?" She suggested. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Sure," Stefan moved to kiss her. Elena twisted at the last moment so his lips landed on her cheek.

She watched him go up the stairs before walking over to the reception desk. The man who had been working when she left was gone to be replaced by a female receptionist.

"Have you seen Mr. Mikaelson or his mother this evening?"

"I'm sorry ma'am, they checked out about an hour ago," she smiled brightly as she checked the registry.

"Checked out? Are you sure?"  _Did they leave without a goodbye?_

"Definitely," the smile was clearly forced for the job.

"Did they leave a message?"

"No miss," she said after she had checked.

"Oh, okay," Elena couldn't explain the reason her chest suddenly constricted. For a moment she was six years old again waiting for her mom to pick her up from school; only she never came.

She turned towards the stairs slowly as she was lost in the memory. Elena jumped when Stefan appeared in front of her.

"I was thinking of heading over to Angelina's for one last meal," Stefan paused when he noticed the expression on her face. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah… yeah," she nodded slowly. "Everything's fine." She allowed him to put his arm around her shoulders and lead her from the hotel.

* * *

Elena sat silently across from Stefan. She pushed the meatballs around her plate with the fork unaware that he had already finished his. Sarah came out to clear their plates and offered Elena a bright smile; she managed to return a meek one.

After a moment of silence Stefan caught her attention.

"I did a lot of thinking in Palermo… about the restaurant, about its future… about our future. And I realized I can't do it without you. I want you with me."

Elena shook her head slowly. "Stefan… I…" She trailed off when he dropped down on one knee with a flourish.  _Oh… here we go again._

"Elena? Will you…"

"Stefan, I don't want to run your…" she broke off when he pulled a small box from his pocket. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the sparkling diamond.

"…be my wife?"

Elena stared at the ring unable to say anything. Stefan seemed to take her silence as an answer and slid the ring onto her finger. Her eyes followed the movement.

* * *

Elena stood at the window ready for bed; she hadn't said a word since Stefan proposed. Moonlight caught the diamond on her finger and sparkled, but her eyes were elsewhere. She focused on the grassy spot where she had laid under the stars with Elijah the night before. After a long moment she looked at the ring and sighed.  _How did I get here?_

Stefan surprised her by wrapping his arms around her waist. He laid open kisses to the exposed skin of her neck and murmured.

"We should get some  _sleep_ … early flight tomorrow."

"Yeah," Elena agreed. She took one last look out the window before slipping out of his arms and climbing in the bed.

* * *

Elijah stood at the window in his room. His eyes were trained on the milky way as he wrapped his arms around himself and slumped against the frame.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End!
> 
> Just Kidding.
> 
> There are four more chapters before I hit the end of the movie. And I'm thinking of doing an epilogue set 6 months to a year later.


	14. Unfinished

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet.
> 
> Two chapters in one day, plus an update for DWTH... woohooo I'm on a roll.

Elena sat at the bar near the front of the small restaurant. Her eyes roamed the packed space that Stefan had put together in the provincial Italian style. For a moment she almost expected to see Sarah emerge from the kitchen with a heaping plate of meatballs. She shook off the thought and turned her attention to the huge blown up photographs of Stefan and his Italian suppliers that she had taken a month ago.

Waiters and waitresses scurried over the floor with a myriad of dishes. From her space at the counter she caught a glimpse of the line cooks firing entrees. At the center of the kitchen she can just make out Stefan in his element. The look on his face was intense, but Elena could tell he was loving every minute of it.

She caught sight of Matt as he took an entrée off the line and carried it out across the floor. He walked behind the bar and placed the plate in front of Elena with a smile and a flourish.

Elena tucked into her meal and watched the dinner rush. An hour later the place had calmed down a tad as the dinner rush subsided. She could see Stefan visiting the tables of the highest members of New York society. She thought he played the role of humble well as he accepted their praise.

She sipped a glass of wine and turned to watch Matt polish glasses on the other side of the bar.

"Can you believe how quickly it's all happened?" He grinned at her and turned his attention to Stefan, "he deserves it."

"I can," Elena smiled at one of her oldest friends. She took a sip of wine and glanced over her shoulder to Stefan, "and he does."

"You must be proud of him," Matt started wiping down the counter.

"I am," Elena smirked. She could feel the effects of the wine, and realized that she was definitely tipsy.

Matt gestured to the ring on her finger. "Have you two set a date yet?"

Elena held out her hand and looked at the diamond. "We're still," she glanced around the busy restaurant, "waiting for things to settle down." They were Stefan's words, but Elena found that she was incredibly thankful for them.

Several hours later Elena strode into the kitchen with her coat on. She crossed her arms and waited a beat before clearing her throat.

"Are you about ready?"

Stefan didn't so much as glance up from the list he was checking. "Just go on ahead, I'll catch up."

Elena sighed before turning and striding out of the restaurant.  _When did this become my routine?_

Elena found herself sitting alone in the living room at three am. She sat working on her laptop into the early hours of the morning.

* * *

A few days later Elena sat at the bar with a group of friends during happy hour. Aside from Caroline every other member of the group was part of a couple.

"How are things going with Stefan?" Caroline nodded to the engagement ring. She sipped on her glass of wine and waited for her to speak.

"Good," she scratched her nose, "things are really busy right now."

A few hours later Elena stumbled into the apartment with her heels in her hand. She could hear Stefan snoring in the bedroom as she locked the door and flopped onto the couch. She turned on the television and stared mindlessly at the bright colours on the screen.

She lurched to her feet when a thought came to her; the kind of thought that comes after indulging in half a bottle of wine and discussing her non-existent love life with Caroline. She searched frantically through the papers on her desk and pulled up the sheet that she had been given a few months before.

Her eyes sought out the clock; 3:30 in New York meant that it was 9:30 in London.  _Not too early to call._

She dialed the number and tucked her legs under her on the couch. After a minute of listening to the most English ringtone she had ever heard an answering machine picked up.

_"Hi. You've reached Esther and Elijah. There's no one here at the moment, but if you'd like to…"_

The message trailed off as a familiar voice spoke.

_"Hello?"_

Elena froze. The courage she'd had a moment ago vanished when he repeated his question. She could hear Esther in the background.

_"Who is it, dear?"_

_"Don't know. Hello?"_

Elena slammed the phone back into the cradle. The only thing she could hear was the pounding of her own heart.

* * *

Elena stood across the street from the packed restaurant. She saw dozens of people being turned away. She watched Stefan cooking through the open-air kitchen at the back. He cooked, ordered and examined every plate as it passed out of the kitchen.

Elena turned her attention to the beautiful hostess. That could have been her if she had said yes to be Stefan's front of house. She watched for a few more minutes. With each passing moment she felt more and more detached.

She sighed and crossed the street.

Elena slid around the line and smiled to Vicky before entering the restaurant; a few people grumbled behind her. She ignored them and made her way to the tiny closet-sized office. Stefan joined her a few minutes later with two plates. This was the only time they really spent together anymore.

"Bono was here last Friday," he offered into the silence.

"Nice," she nodded before turning her attention back to her plate.

Elena paused on her way out of the restaurant when she saw a thin man eating alone. He had a tomato stained napkin tucked into his collar.

"John," Elena approached the table and smiled.

"Your boy can cook," he looked up from his plate.

"So I've heard," she sighed.

"Thanks for getting me the table."

"It's what I do," she nodded dismissively.  _It's what I always do._

John smiled and gestured for her to take a seat at his table. "Have a drink with me."

Elena settled in the chair while John gestured to the waiter to bring another wine glass.

"So," he ventured after she had taken a sip, "I finally got around to reading those papers you sent me…"

Elena narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.

"'Does True Love Have a Shelf Life?'"

"Oh," she nodded and sat down her glass, "what did you think?"

"Not bad," he smiled approvingly, "I liked it. I think people would like it."

"Who are the people you are referring to?"

"Advertisers mostly," he chuckled.

Elena laughed and took another drink of her wine.

"Why didn't you finish it?"

"You didn't like the ending?" She narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"There is no ending."

"Of course there is," she frowned, "she found him and they reconnected."

"You never answered your own question though," he lowered his glass, "you never followed up." John smiled when he met her confused gaze. "It's the son isn't it? He's the reason you didn't follow up?"

"What?"

"I read what you wrote remember? It's all there on the page," he gave her a knowing look.

"I hardly wrote anything about Eli- the son."

"Exactly," he watched Elena take a desperate sip of her wine. "Like I said it showed potential. Maybe it's time we talk about the next step. Maybe there is more you can contribute."

"Creatively…" she trailed off hopefully.

"Slow down, kid. You've got potential, but you've got a lot of work to do. You have a voice, Elena, but you don't always use it."

"But you want me to try something new?"

John smiled and shrugged. "Come into my office on Monday… We'll talk."

Elena walked out of the restaurant with a huge smile on her face. Only one thing bothered her about the conversation. She turned left on the street and hurried home. She sent a quick text and smiled when she got a reply.

* * *

Elena opened the apartment door and stood aside to let Caroline inside.

"What was so urgent?" Caroline asked as she shrugged off her coat.

"I need you to read something for me," Elena led her to the couch and passed over her laptop, "and tell me if you think it's unfinished."

"Sure," she took the computer, "but you know I'm not much of a writer right?"

They lapsed into silence as Caroline read. Elena picked up her camera and started flipping through the pictures from Italy. She stopped when she reached the one of them in the bell tower; the one where he had turned his head at the last second so that they were staring at each other and not the camera. It was this picture she was staring at when Caroline finally closed the laptop.

"It needs a follow-up if you ask me," she set the computer aside. "Why didn't you follow up? Was it because of him… Elijah?"

"How could you think that?" Elena lowered the camera to her lap. "I hardly wrote anything about him."

"That's kind of the point, Elena," Caroline leaned back against the couch and smirked. "You couldn't stop talking about how insufferable he was, and then it turned it turned into how sweet he was, and later you went back to insufferable."

"I…"

"Don't deny it, 'Lena," Caroline cut in, "I spoke to you almost every day you were in Italy… I remember. He was such a huge part of this journey for both of you and you barely mentioned him. Is that him?" She took the camera and peered at the image with a knowing smile. "You like him… I can see it in your eyes here. He's hot…"

"Caroline," she switched off the camera, "I wanted your thoughts on the article."

* * *

Later that night Elena was getting ready for bed when she heard Stefan stumbling into the apartment. She smiled brightly when he yawned and entered the bedroom. She bounced on the bed.

"Guess what?"

"Too tired to guess," he yawned again and pulled off his shirt, "just tell me."

"John liked my story," she grinned brightly.

"What story?"

"Esther's story. He says I've got a voice. He wants to talk to me about maybe taking the next step. Isn't that great?" Elena couldn't get the smile to leave her face.

"Yeah… yeah…" Stefan yawned,"…very gruh….

"That's it," the smile slowly slid from her cheeks. "That's all you've got is 'very gruh'?"

Stefan flopped onto the bed and kicked off his shoes. "I'm happy for you, but I've also been on my feet for nineteen hours. G'night."

Elena watched him close his eyes. She opened and closed her mouth quickly before speaking.

"Stefan, this isn't working."

"And whose fault is that?" She saw him open his eyes and stare at the ceiling.

_Is he really going to try and blame all of this on me?_  She looked at him with wide eyes.

"This right here," he sat up with a frustrated sigh, "this is why I wanted you to be my front of house. I wanted you with me precisely to avoid this situation."

"You asked me to be your wife Stefan," her fingers gripped the comforter, "and I never see you… that's the situation right now. There is no avoiding it."

Stefan covered his mouth when he yawned. "Do we have to do this right now? You're being unreasonable."

"There's nothing reasonable about love, Stefan." She gritted her teeth together. It was high time they settled this.

"You knew what the restaurant was going to require," he crossed his arms, "… you knew I'd be working long hours… you knew exactly what it would mean… you knew there would be sacrifices… you  _knew_ that…"

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. In the distance a siren could be heard.

"You knew this was who I was," he snapped.

"I know," she watched her fingers turn over the ring before looking into his eyes, "I'm trying to tell you that I'm not who I was."

"I didn't do anything wrong," he insisted petulantly.

"I know," she stood up and walked around the bed. "You're not wrong, Stefan. And I'm not wrong. We're just wrong for each other." She pulled the ring off her finger and placed it in his hand before walking out of the apartment.

* * *

_Two months later_

Elena sat at her desk completely immersed in the article she was working on. She glanced up when she heard a knock on the door. Standing from her desk she crossed the small furnished studio apartment.

She pulled open the door and accepted a stack of forwarded mail from the man on the other side of the door. Elena flicked through catalogues and junk mail before settling on a thick envelope with an Italian post mark. She dropped everything else and tore into the paper to pull out an invitation.

_"Mrs. Esther Mikaelson and Don Ansel Bartolinni invite you to the wedding of Mrs. Esther Mikaelson and Don Ansel Bartolinni."_

Across the bottom of the page was a scrawled message in familiar spidery handwriting.

_"Please come darling. You must"_

 


	15. What If?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I do not own TVD or TO or Letters to Juliet
> 
> I decided to go the one chapter route rather than making three little ones.

People milled around outside the Medieval Italian village church. Very few stopped to admire the stone work though choosing instead to make small talk with the families of the bride and groom. A yellow taxi pulled up at the end of the drive. A young woman in a simple blue sundress stepped out and stared at the building. She swallowed nervously before she started taking small steps towards the church.

She stepped inside and walked past a myriad of guests both young and old. Her eyes darted from face to face as she searched the crowds.

"Elena…"

Her skirt twirled around her legs as she spun to see him. He was dressed in a fitted suit with waistcoat. If she had to choose one word to describe him in that moment she would have gone with dashing. She bit her lip when he approached her.

"Hi!" She had to stop her hand from doing a ridiculous little wave.

"Hi," he came to a stop in front of her and grinned.

"Hi…"  _Crap I already said that!_

She stepped into the awkward hug. Had they always been like that? Or was it just the time that separated them?

"You look great," her eyes flickered over the suit.  _Better than great._

"I'm glad you came," he chuckled. His eyes roamed her outfit. "You look pretty good yourself."

Did she imagine the way his eyes lingered on her?

"How could I not?" She blushed a second later. "I meant come… not look…"

"I got it," Elijah smiled and cut off her stammering.

They exchanged awkward smiles as they both attempted to figure out just why things seemed were so uncomfortable.

Elijah cleared his throat and glanced around the sanctuary. "You came alone?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I did. I'm sorry I didn't RSVP… I just moved."

"It's fine," Elijah smiled at her. "I'm glad you came."

_Are you glad for the same reason I am?_

"There's our angel," Ansel came up beside her. He placed a kiss on each of her cheeks. "Thank you for coming."

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world," Elena returned his hug.

"They need you at the alter Ansel," Elijah noticed people starting to take their seats.

"Of course," he placed a kiss on Elena's hand before striding towards the front of the church.

"So," Elena turned back to him with a smirk, "still a cynic? Or has your mother and Ansel restored your faith in true love?"

"They've been extraordinary," Elijah's eyes followed Ansel to the front, "they are living proof that if you find love for even the shortest moment, you have to grab it with both hands…" he trailed off and shrugged when he caught himself being sincere, "Tis better to have loved… and all that."

"And all that," Elena smiled. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Elena's mouth popped open as if to say something when she was interrupted.

"There you are." A striking English woman in a gown that perfectly matched his suit approached them. "You need to get outside. She'll be here any second."

Elena stared at the gorgeous woman at a loss for words.

"Hayley," Elijah made the introductions, "this is Elena."

Elena smiled to mask her sinking heart, "hi."

Realization flashed in Hayley's flawless eyes. "The Elena?"

"The Elena."

Elena smiled and shrugged.

"It's so nice to meet you," Hayley gave her a brilliant grin. "You're kind of a legend around here." She turned to Elijah a second later. "I'll see you up there, yeah? Don't trip."

"As if I'm not nervous enough," he chuckled when she kissed his cheek.

Elena watched her walk up the aisle. "She's beautiful," Elena remarked.

"Yeah," she saw him shrug from the corner of her eye, "she cleans up well I suppose."

"And is she…" she trailed off when a limo pulled up outside the church.

"Showtime," Elijah laughed. He motioned to a younger man walking up the aisle. "Kol, can you Elena a seat?" He smiled at her before hurrying to open the door for the bride.

"The Elena?" Kol offered her his arm.  _Is this the woman he's been going on about for months?_

"I suppose so," she shrugged and allowed him to show her to a seat.

"I'm Kol," he directed her to a seat with some of the secretaries of Juliet. "My brother speaks very highly of you."

"Really?" She quirked an eyebrow. Kol never got a chance to reply though as he was pulled away by a grinning blond to sit in the front row. The blond then moved to stand with Hayley.

* * *

Elena stepped lightly down the narrow streets of the old village in the wake of the loud brass band. She smiled softly when she saw a familiar vineyard appear ahead of the crowds.

She glanced back over her shoulder to see the applauding villagers standing on their doorsteps as the tail end of the procession passed them. People in upstairs windows threw confetti while they whistled and cheered. Elena brushed a few pieces of confetti from her shoulders, and realized that there was probably a lot more of it in her hair.

She didn't linger long on the sight behind her before her eyes settled on Elijah again. She had hardly looked away from him since leaving the church.

* * *

Esther and Ansel set at the center of the head table. Elijah and Hayley were seated on either side of the couple, along with the rest of Esther and Ansel's children.

Elena sat at a separate table with the secretaries of Juliet. She found it impossible to not steal glances at him over the top of her wine glass. Her incognito stares became socially acceptable when he stood and tapped his glass.

Silence descended quickly over the crowd when Elijah cleared his throat.

"It has been a severe honor giving away my Mother today," he smiled at Esther. "Although she has left me in the market for a roommate if anyone knows anyone looking… some light cooking and laundry required."

A chuckle echoed around the vineyard.

"I'm not allowed to make a speech…"

"Shame!"

Elijah shot a playful glare at his brother before turned back to the crowd.

"I'll just get to it then… Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Ansel Bartolinni…"

Elena stood with the rest of the guests and clapped as Ansel and Esther shared a kiss.

"Now I believe," Elijah began again when the crowd had quieted again, "Mrs. Bartolinni would like to say a few words… Mom?"

Esther stood up to a round of polite clapping and gave her son a kiss on the cheek before he sat back down.

"I won't keep you long as I'm sure most of you know the story of how my husband…"

She was cut off by the whistling crowd. She smiled when they quieted again.

"Twenty-five years ago I wrote a letter that asked a question," Esther picked up a sheet of paper from the table, "twenty-five years later I got an answer." Her inquisitive eyes sought the young brunette. "Elena? Dear? Would you stand up please?"

Elena startled when she was called out. She chewed her lip before reluctantly standing up. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment which Elijah smiled at.

"Elena gave me an answer."

The guests clapped and cheered as Esther started to unfold the paper. Elena's cheeks grew redder as she recognized the paper. She was certain the flush must have spread to her entire body.

"She wrote me a letter. This letter. Without it, none of this would have been possible, none of us would be here today, and so it seems only fitting that I share some of it with all of you…" Esther cleared her throat delicately before she started to read.

_"'What' and 'if': two words as non-threatening as words come. But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: 'What if?'…"_

Esther looked up to meet Elena's misty eyes. Everyone else in the vineyard seemed to disappear as Esther read the words to the young woman.

_"I don't know how your story ended. But I know that if what was love – true love – then it's never too late. If it was true then why wouldn't it be true now? You need only the courage to follow your heart…"_

Elena's eyes turned to Elijah. She felt the breath leave her lungs as he stared right back at her.

_"I don't know what a love like that feels like… a love to leave loved ones for… but I'd like to believe if I ever felt it I'd have the courage to seize it. I hope you had the courage to seize it, Esther. And if you didn't, I hope one day that you will."_

Elena's eyes glazed over as Esther folded the letter. She felt the first tear fall as everyone started to clap.

Elijah sat up straighter when he saw the tears form in her eyes.

Elena looked at him sitting beside Hayley before turning on her heel. She mumbled an excuse to Sarah before she walked away from the gathering. She swiped at the tears that coated her cheeks.

Elijah watched her go for a moment before catching his mother's urging look. He hopped to his feet and ran after her.

* * *

Elijah had made a complete circle of the house as he called her name. Each utterance grew more and more desperate when she was nowhere to be found. He hurried to look down the rows of vines before he turned back to the house.

"Elena," he called when he spotted her. She stood at a second floor window as she used a mirror to fix her make up. He walked up to stand by the vines below her window. "Elena!"

Elena leant out the window when she heard him call her name.

"What are you doing?" Elijah tilted his head back to see her. In that moment he felt very much like Romeo standing beneath Juliet's balcony.

"I'm leaving," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why?"

"I shouldn't have come here," she shook her head sadly.

"Wha… did you listen to what Mum just said? To what you wrote?" Had she not come for the reason he thought she did, for the reason he had hoped she did?

"I'm happy for you," Elena's grin said she was anything but, "she's gorgeous… not at all how I imagined."

"Who?" Elijah narrowed his eyes in confusion.  _What is she talking about?_

"Hayley," Elena shrugged.  _Who else would we be discussing?_

"Hayley?" Elijah tried not to laugh. "She's my cousin."

"Your cousin?" Elena pressed her lips into a line. "Is that even legal?"

"Different girl," Elijah waved his hand, "same name. She's like another sister to me, and a daughter to Mom. We practically grew up together…"

Elena's mouth opened and closed quickly. She looked down into his pleading eyes.

"Don't go."

"Why?" She felt a sob rise in her throat and choked it down. "Why should I stay, Elijah?" She leaned further out the window when he started to climb up the vine. "What are you doing?"

"Ok," he started talking halfway up, "the thing is I've watched Mum and Ansel over the last few months… and I've realized that I can't wait twenty-five years to say…" he paused to catch his breath when he made it to eye level, "… I love you, Elena."

"What?" Elena tilted her head.  _Did I hear him right?_

"That kiss… it wasn't a mistake," his hands gripped the vine tightly, "it was poorly timed, I won't lie, but it was not a mistake."

"You love me?" She watched him with dazed eyes.

"I do," he nodded. His eyes focused on her face.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Terrified," Elena took note of his wide eyes.

"Oh that," he chuckled. "I remembered about half-way up that I'm a little afraid of heights."

Elena pressed her lips into a line, but she couldn't stop the smile as she met his eyes.

"I love you, too," she leaned forward, but stopped when he didn't move. "We're you going to kiss me? Or…"

"I would," he glanced down at the vine, "I just… I appear to have lost my f-"

"Elijah!" Elena leaned out the window to see him lying flat on his back on the ground.

She rushed through the halls of the villa and down the stairs. Elena circled around the building to the front yard and dropped to her knees beside Elijah as he moaned in pain.

"Are you okay?" Her eyes roamed his frame for any obvious injuries.

"Please tell me no one saw that," he groaned.

Elena glanced up to see Kol and the blond from earlier looking in their direction. The rest of the wedding party was following their gaze as well. Esther and Ansel were watching them with approving grins. She turned back to Elijah with a gentle smile.

"Nobody saw that."

"Good," he nodded and winced at the movement.

"Can you move?" Her hand cupped his cheek. If he asked she would have said it was to stabilize him.

"Only my lips," Elijah stopped moving completely and smiled at her.

Elena laughed before leaning over to brush her mouth over his. Their lips moved in a slow, loving kiss.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is the end of the movie.  
> I have three major events that I would like to explore in Epilogue chapters. So there will be a few more, but they might be longer coming out.


	16. Wide Awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I do not own Letters to Juliet, TVD, or TO.
> 
> This is the first part of the epilogue chapters. More are to come.

Elena grinned from ear to ear when she heard the Facetime ring. She tossed the sweaters she had folded inside the open suitcase and reached for her phone.

"Elena," he smiled when he saw her.

"Elijah," she greeted and dropped to sit on the edge of her bed. "If you keep calling I'll never finish packing."

"I'm certain that is not true," he chuckled.

"Oh really?" Elena flipped the phone's camera so that he could see the half packed suitcase and open drawers. She turned the camera back around, "I've had to call in help."

"Yes she did," Caroline dropped onto the other side of the bed and leaned over so her face was in the frame. She smiled at Elijah before she focused on a spot over his shoulder. "You know someone's behind you, right?"

"Bloody 'ell, love," the man groaned, "I was hoping to scare him."

"Niklaus," Elijah glanced behind him, "you have impeccable timing."

"Hi Nik," Elena smiled.

"Hello, love," he gave her a charming smile. "Who's your lovely friend?"

"This is Caroline," Elena waved to the blond, "she's helping me pack."

"Which has been seriously derailed by this phone call," Caroline rolled her eyes. "Say goodbye 'Lena; you two can talk later… after we're done here."

"Care," Elena held the phone out of her best friends grasp.

"Really Caroline," Elijah scolded from above their heads, "we just started talking."

"Elena, I'm going to make this simple," Caroline abruptly stopped reaching for the phone. She jumped to her feet and ran to pick up an old photo album. "You can hang up and finish packing, or I can show your boyfriend all of your embarrassing pictures from high school." To prove her point Caroline pulled Elena's seventh grade school photo from the book.

"Honey, I love you, but I have to go," Elena frowned at the phone. Her eyes wide with fear. "There are some things you just shouldn't see."

"I love you, too," Elijah laughed and disconnected the video chat.

"Beautiful and manipulative," Nik flopped onto the couch beside him, "I like her."

* * *

"Now that is settled," Caroline put down the album and took the phone, "I'm going to put this away." She hid Elena's phone in her purse and held up some books. "How about these?"

"Mystic Falls," Elena brought over a box. They wordlessly dropped her book collection into a box.

"You don't want to take any with you?"

"Maybe one or two for the plane, but really it seems like dead weight," Elena shrugged. She pulled out a dog-eared copy of Pride and Prejudice, and a new best seller. She set the books on the bed beside her open suitcase.

Caroline reached for another box and started wrapping the picture frames in newspaper. "I assume these are going with you?" She grinned.

"Of course," Elena started packing away her pictures. "How else would I remember your face?"

"You can take new ones when I come to visit," Caroline suggested.

"That's true," Elena nodded.

They worked quickly and efficiently and before Elena knew it her apartment was completely packed up. They had three boxes to be shipped, and eight to take back to Mystic Falls.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Caroline's foot tapped on the floor outside the departure gate. "You have everything?"

"I think so," Elena nodded and opened her purse.

"Carryon?"

"Check."

"Passport?"

"Check."

"Visa?"

"Check."

"Tickets?"

"Check."

"Luggage?"

"Checked."

"Something to read on the plane?"

Elena tapped the area over her novel. "Check. I'm ready Care."

"I'm not ready to let you go," Caroline felt tears well in her eyes.

Elena sniffled as she hugged her best friend. Her smile was teary when she pulled back. "You're not letting me go. You're going to come and visit at the end of next month, and we'll talk every day."

"Just like when you went to Italy?" Caroline swiped a tear from her cheek.

"Just like when I went to Italy," Elena nodded.

"And you will call me immediately if he does or says anything obnoxious?" Caroline grabbed her shoulders. "Or anything positively wonderful? I want to know it all 'Lena. I want to know every little detail," she gave Elena a pointed look.

"Judging by the look she's giving you I'm assuming these are details I don't want to know," Alaric cleared his throat. He stepped forward and wrapped Elena in a tight hug.

"Probably not," she squeezed him, "I love you dad, but I don't think you could handle our girl talk."

"No," he laughed nervously. "I'd rather not know about that. I choose to see you as my little girl who always falls off her bike and scrapes her knees rather than the grown woman moving half-way across the world to live with her boyfriend." He smiled when Elena giggled. "This is pretty permanent isn't it?"

"I should think so," Elena shouldered her bag, "I'm moving half-way across the world. And I can't wait to get there." Her blood buzzed with excitement. She hadn't seen Elijah in three weeks, not physically at least. She wasn't sure if they would make it all the way in the house or not.

"I'm going to miss you kid," Alaric gave her another hug and pressed a kiss to the top of her hair. "I'll see you next month."

"We both will," Caroline stepped into the group hug.

Elena sniffed as she pulled away and walked through the gate to be frisked by security.

* * *

She reclined in the seat and covered her upper body with her sweater. Her fingers tapped against her thighs excitedly. She knew she should get some sleep, but she was far too wound up; too excited.

She must have drifted off at some point because a flight attendant shook her shoulder gently and told her she needed to put her seat in the upright and locked position. Elena knew whatever sleep she had managed to get was not enough when she walked off the plane with everyone else; her movements were more sluggish then she meant for them to be.

She stood in the line to enter the UK and felt certain she was going to fall asleep where she stood. She blinked rapidly and pulled her phone from her bag; she was about to switch it on when she saw the sign. She tucked it away again while the security guards gave her the stink eye and moved forward in the line.

It was another twenty-five minutes before she stepped through the arrivals gate. Her tired eyes scanned the waiting faces. She pulled her suitcases beside her as she walked.  _Where is he?_

She jumped a foot in the air when she felt a hand close around her elbow. Elena spun on her heel to look up into his laughing eyes. Before she could effectively tell him off he swooped down and captured her mouth in a passionate kiss. She pulled back when oxygen became an issue.

"Hi," she gasped.

"Hi," he grinned. His thumbs rubbed circles on the exposed skin of her hips: "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," she hummed before stretching up to kiss him again. "I'd love to show you how much, but maybe we should leave the airport first." She gently pushed his chest so that he took a small step back.

"That's probably a good idea," he chuckled and reached for one of her bags.

* * *

Elijah parked the car in the driveway of the small manor. He turned to look at Elena only to find that she had fallen asleep in the passenger's seat. He took her bags inside the house before he opened her car door and gently shook her shoulder.

Elena shifted slightly and mumbled.

Elijah gently shook her shoulder again.

Elena scrunched up her nose and swatted his hand feebly. "Five mo' minutes, Care…"

"Elena," he snickered, "as much as I'd like to let you sleep if you don't get up now you'll be awake in the middle of the night."

"I don't think I can stay awake," she blinked slowly and accepted his hand when he helped her from the car. She covered her yawn with her hand and walked slowly up the stairs.

"Let's get you some food and coffee," he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "and if you still feel like you're going to fall asleep I'm certain we can come up with a few activities to keep you awake."

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Elena hummed.

"Well…" he opened the door and steered her into the kitchen, "there's always unpacking…"

"That might just put me to sleep faster," she groaned.

"… followed by an invigorating shower," he winked.

"Would I be alone for that?" Elena's tired eyes sparkled.

"Oh no," he shook his head solemnly; "I wouldn't dare leave you alone you might fall asleep."

"Hmmm," she hummed and wrapped her arms around his neck while she pretended to consider: "food, coffee, unpacking and a shower… I think I could get onboard with that."

"Good," his arms settled around her waist. He smirked before lifting her to sit on the table and capturing her lips in a long kiss.

"Is that plan concrete," she gasped when he pressed kisses down her neck, "or can we add a few things as we go?" Her fingers tangled in his short hair. "I think I need to work up an appetite before eating."

"I can certainly help with that, lovely Elena," he breathed against her ear. His hand's slowly slipped under the material of her shirt.

"Oh good," she tugged his hair to resettle his mouth against hers, "working up an appetite is much more enjoyable with you than by myself." Her fingers made quick work of the buttons on his shirt.

"I have to agree," he broke away to pull her shirt over her head, "much more fun this way." His hands splayed across her back before he glided them up to unhook her bra. He slid the material down her arms slowly before he dipped and started to lick and nip across her collarbone and down. "Are you still tired?"

"N-not at the moment," she stuttered under his ministrations. Her fingers slowly raked down his back as his mouth travelled lower. She was vaguely reminded of a dream she'd had nearly eight months before; a dream that was about to become a glorious reality again. She tugged her lip between her teeth and lifted her hips when his hands grasped her waistband.

"I'm wide awake."


End file.
